Arctic sea ice reflects about 80% of the sun's heat, stabilizing the colder temperature of the ocean.

Based on the latest satellite data cited in December 2007 article, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) climate scientist Jay Zwally predicts that nearly all the ice could be gone from the Arctic Ocean by the end of Summer 2012.

Arctic Ice in September 2007 was: 23% below previous record low (from NASA satellite data) 50% below 1950 levels (from ship data)
Other records surpassed: Greenland surface ice loss is now 400% greater than 15 years ago. Surface temperatures in the Arctic are the highest in 77 years of record keeping.

There is hope: According to James Hansen, top climate scientist at NASA: “We have passed tipping points. We have not passed a point of no return. We can still roll things back, but it is going to require a quick turn in direction.” SOS BE VEG. GO GREEN.

Dr. Gerald Dickens, associate professor of Earth Science at the prestigious Rice University, located in Texas, USA, and Editor-in-Chief of the American Geophysical Union's Paleoceanography journal, stated in an interview with Supreme Master Television:

(…BUT IT TURNS OUT THAT MOST OF THE CARBON, ABOUT 93% OF IT, IS IN THE OCEAN, NOT IN TREES OR IN THE ATMOSPHERE. So what's happening right now is we're adding a lot of carbon to the atmosphere. It's coming in much faster than it can go into the biosphere or into the ocean. So THAT'S WHY THE CO2 IS GOING UP VERY, VERY QUICKLY)

According to US University of California, Davis' newspaper, The California Aggie, published on March 4, 2008:

US professor says methane from Arctic lakes adds to global warming. In a talk presented at the University of California at Davis, Dr. Katey Walter, a professor of limnology and environmental research at the University of Alaska, stated that methane bubbling up from Arctic lakes is now being released into the atmosphere. This is due to melting of the lakes' permafrost layers resulting from climate change. According to Dr. Walter, who has personally conducted Arctic lake research in areas such as Siberia, this phenomenon causes further global warming because methane “fuels its own production” by melting even more permafrost layers once released.

Research by Dr. Gregory Ryskin at Northwestern University indicates that methane explosions from the ocean caused extinctions of 90% of marine species and 75% of land species 250 million years ago. In his report, “Methane-driven oceanic eruptions and mass extinctions,” he explains how methane gas, which had been trapped in the stagnant waters, was released, leading to the die-off of most marine and land life. Dr. Ryskin states: “…if it happened once it could happen again.”

Are we short of water?

1 serving of BEEF uses over 1,200 gallons of water

1 serving of CHICKEN uses 330 gallons of water

1 Complete VEGAN meal with TOFU, RICE, and VEGETABLES uses only 98 gallons of water

Be Veg. Go Green.

Are we short of food?

GRAIN CONSUMPTION SOY CONSUMPTION

How many people in the world are hungry? 1.02 billion people

Grain currently fed to livestock is enough to feed 2 billion people.

And I said already 80% of it, will be cut almost immediately, and we can see the results in a few weeks. Because if you don't keep breeding more animals, and then there is less methane. And if we don't eat meat, then there is no transportation necessary for it and much less fuel needed. And all these people can be trained to do something else. And there will be less hunger because we will use the agriculture products, cereals, to feed humans instead of feeding more bred animals in the future.

So we don't have hunger anymore and there will be no more war because of hunger. So the effect is immense. Keep multiplying it, and then you know what I mean.

Be Veg. Go Green.

MEAT COSTS and VEGAN SAVINGS

A meat-free vegetarian diet drastically reduces carbon footprint.

Over a one year period, per person:

Emissions from a meat-based diet is equivalent to driving a mid-sized car 4,758 km.

You are watching Words of Wisdom Rebroadcast of the Live Videoconference with Supreme Master Ching Hai “Vegan Organic for Prosperity and to Save the Planet from Climate Change ” Jakarta, Indonesia - October 22, 2009

MC(m): And we are both honored to be MC's of this special seminar entitled

MC(f,m): “Vegan Organic for Prosperity and to Save the Planet from Climate Change.”

MC(f): This seminar is being jointly hosted by the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and the Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association.

MC(m): Welcome!

We would also like to extend an especially warm welcome to hundreds of government officials, IPCC scientists, environmental NGOs, journalists and celebrities who have kindly taken time out of their, of course, busy schedules to attend this event. In addition, we would like to wish a warm Indonesian welcome to all Supreme Master Television viewers tuning in live across five continents via 14 satellite platforms to share this moment with us.

MC(f): It's very meaningful and timely for us to come together today to share information and discuss a solution to the adverse environmental issues which all beings on this planet are presently facing. Indonesia is one of the most resource-rich countries in the world, and possesses beauty beyond one's imagination. But Indonesia has also been greatly affected by climate change in recent years, and we appreciate this valuable opportunity to hold this climate change seminar here to discuss solutions to this global crisis. This seminar is being held as a part of the lead up to the 31st Session Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which will be held on the 26th of October 2009 in Bali, Indonesia.

MC(m): Speaking of Bali, Indonesia, now we would like to present a traditional dance from Bali. Once again, I repeat, this dance is coming from Bali, Indonesia genuinely. The title of the performance is “Tari Pendet.” Tari Pendet is a ritual dance that is usually performed in Balinese temples to welcome the gods before special ceremonies. The dance is presented here today by our Association members along with their friends as a welcome gesture to all of us present here, as well as to all the Supreme Master Television live viewers that are with us here in spirit.

MC(f): They also dance for the success of the IPCC Bali conference, and hope our message from today's seminar will be delivered to the Bali conference delegates. Now, let's enjoy this very special

MC(m,f): Balinese performance!

MC(f): What a colorful dance! Thank you, Tari Pendet dancers, for such an enchanting performance. This Balinese dance gives a glimpse into the cultural richness that exists throughout the islands of Indonesia. These charming and special Balinese performers are all young members of the Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association who came here from Bali especially for us today.

MC(m): Wow, A long way from Bali, right?

MC(f): Let's give them another round of applause.

MC(m): Thank you. And yes, we wish to protect this beautiful cultural heritage of Indonesia against severe climate change. We are very honored to have Indonesia's Minister, staff of the Ministry of Environment, Madam Sri Hudyastuti here with us today. With great honor, we invite you, Madam Sri Hudiastuti to share a few words to open our seminar. Let's welcome the distinguished Madam Sri Hudyastuti with a warm round of applause.

MSH(f): In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful. May the peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you. May prosperity be upon all of us. First of all, we would like to apologize because we, the State Ministry of Environment, cannot bring the Minister to attend because presently we have a new ministerial inauguration.

Therefore, hopefully for the next event, ladies and gentlemen, we can have a chance to meet with them, perhaps both of them - the former Minister, Mr. Rachmat Witoelar, as well as the new Minister, Mr. Gusti. On behalf of the ministry, we apologize that he cannot give a speech. I have been authorized to speak on his behalf at this seminar today, the welcome speech from the State Ministry of Environment. May the peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you. May prosperity be upon us all.

First of all, let's send our thankful prayers in the presence of Allah, praise be unto Thee the Almighty, for His blessing that the climate change seminar today can take place to welcome the next IPCC 31st plenary session, with the theme “Vegan Organic for Prosperity and Save the Planet from Climate Change.”

Next, I would like to express my gratitude to all brothers and sisters who are participating in this seminar, including the speakers as well as the audience who have taken the time to come to today's event. Respected audience, as we all know, since the industrial revolution in the 19th century the temperature on the Earth's surface has increased globally. This increasing temperature on the Earth's surface is partly caused by fossil fuel emissions, deforestation and the destruction of soil, and also by increasing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

We know this phenomenon as “global warming.” Global warming is the cause of the world's climate change. The increasing temperature on Earth will also cause polar ice to melt, thus raising the sea levels. As a consequence of this, small islands will sink. This statement is based on the evaluation of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2007, which states that from 1990 until 2005 the global average temperature has increased from between 0.15 degrees Celsius up to 0.30 degrees Celsius each decade. Thus, the global temperature increase since 2005 has been 0.76 degrees Celsius. Observations of the speed of sea level rise from the 19th to the 20th century have shown significant elevation, and in the 20th century alone, the predicted total increase is 0.17 meter.

Nowadays, climate change has become a global issue that everyone is talking about. On the international level, under the wings of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, almost every country in the world conducts routine meetings in order to cope with the climate change problem together. Indonesia is one of the countries, as a member of the climate change convention, which is vulnerable to climate change. We realize the importance of national preparation in facing the impacts of climate change. Therefore, when drafting national policies, the government has begun to include climate change issues on national development agendas.

One example that we can relate to is Presidential Regulation No. 5 - the national energy policy of 2006. That Presidential Regulation targets a decrease in energy consumption from fossil fuels and encourages the use of sustainable alternative energy. Furthermore, the Presidential Instruction No. 5, year 2008, is about the focus of economic programs in 2008-2009.

The government paid attention to the implementation of mechanism, clean development and reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation in developing countries at the national level, where implementation of both of these activities had been agreed upon at the international level. Happy audience, the problem of climate change is a global problem which we have to face together. Contribution from the whole social stratum is absolutely needed so we can mitigate the speed of climate change.

Each group has to start considering the environmental aspect in their activities, such as government institutions, industries and non-governmental organizations, as well as each individual. Caring for the environment needs to be taught as early as possible to the youth, and also the eco-friendly lifestyle needs to be a priority. There are many things we can do as individuals to contribute to reducing the amount of greenhouse gas emissions, such as: planting trees, saving on energy consumption, not using a motor vehicle for short journeys, maximizing the use of solar energy. Good air circulation in buildings also can contribute to reducing the greenhouse gas emissions.

Respected audience, today we can learn from vegan organic, including vegan organic farming, for a sustainable environment such as seedling planting using organic compost fertilizer - not using chemical fertilizer. These kinds of activities need to be developed more because they bring benefits not only for us but also for the next generation. We have to start to put our attention towards a sustainable environment. We cannot let the problem be handled by just a certain group or institution.

Therefore, from now on we have to increase our understanding of caring for the environment and start from small actions ourselves because we only have one Earth. Respected audience, in closing, once again, I invite all nations to become more aware of the direct impact of global warming and environmental destruction. Global warming and environmental destruction, as I've said before, can cause multiple impacts and have great influence on social and economic systems. Once again, I hope today's seminar will raise more of our awareness to the meaning and principle of environmental matters and increase our readiness in facing the upcoming climate change. Thank you. May the peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you.

MC(f): Thank you, respected Ms. Sri for being with us here today and for all that you do in support of efforts to halt the environmental threats we are encountering.

MC(m): The climate change crisis we are now experiencing is a great opportunity for us to work together to save our environment through immediate, economical and effective solutions. Some of these solutions will be presented to us by today's speakers and, of course, all of whom are experts in their fields.

MC(f): We will show how adopting more healthy and sustainable eating habits is the fastest and most effective solution to save the planet. Now, we will present a video compilation highlighting the urgency with which we need to save the planet as well as some of the most simple and cost-effective solutions.

MC(m): Ladies and gentlemen, as we have seen, the situation is becoming very severe. But we still have hope! And all we need to do is act now.

The first thing that needs to be considered is to raise the awareness. Raising the community awareness that there is a global warming crisis, then we have an understanding on what the global warming is, what caused it, and after that, what we can do to overcome it. There are many ways in which it can be done, from the government or from institutions, and then from organizations - whether from groups like organic, vegan, or from other professional groups or as individuals.

MC(f): This is the time for all government institutions, media and individuals to encourage good deeds with the common goal to save all lives on Earth! Too many lives are at stake now. It is that urgent. We have no choice but to act right now! If managed sustainably, the resources of the world can be used sustainably and shared by all. Indonesia is the world's fourth most populous country and represents a significant proportion of the world's population and thus plays a very important role. We can lead the way by being shining examples to the rest of the world on how to live sustainably.

MC(m): And today, we have the privilege to hear from Miss Amanda Katili Niode. She is a special assistant to Indonesia's Environment Minister, and a member of the National Council on Climate Change. She has had the opportunity to receive firsthand training from Mr. Al Gore, former Vice President of the United States and joint Nobel Laureate for Peace in 2007, for efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about climate change, and to lay the foundations for the urgent measures that are needed to counteract such change. Her talk today is titled “Global Warming and the Impacts on Life.” So, let's welcome Miss Amanda Katili Niode.

AKN(f): Thank you for the warm welcome.

AKN(f): May the peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be with you. Peace for us all. Ladies and gentlemen, what we will try to show this afternoon are visualizations of what has been said by madam, an expert staff of the Minister of Environment, Mrs. Sri Hudyastuti, and also some of the pictures from the training conducted by Mr. Al Gore. So, there are two institutions that we will report the information from, namely the National Council on Climate Change, and The Climate Project Indonesia and I will explain later what the organization does.

This is the national focal point of climate change in Indonesia. The institution was established under Presidential Regulations No. 46 in 2008 and chaired directly by the President of the Republic of Indonesia, namely Mr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. There are 17 ministers, and then the head of the climatology agency. We are the supporting unit from The National Council on Climate Change.

The Climate Project is an organization established by Al Gore, the former Vice President of America and Noble laureate in 2007. He was so successful in his campaign on climate change through the film, maybe you have seen it, “The Inconvenient Truth”? So, after the movie's success, he was asked by reporters, “What's next?” And he said, “I'm going to train 1000 people in the United States so they can communicate the climate crisis, like what I'm doing, and I will give my slides to them.” So then he trained 1000 people in the United States, and later, many other countries also wanted to participate.

So, Al Gore then provided training in the UK, Australia, Canada and other countries. What we see here…this is The Climate Project International, and there are 54 Indonesian people directly trained by Al Gore. We are all volunteers, and we could be invited anywhere to provide information about climate change, but of course the knowledge should be localized according to the situation and conditions of respective regions.

So we can see here, in America and Mexico, they have just completed their training; in Australia, the training is also taking place, and in India too. Of course, it also exists in Canada. So there are eight, and Al Gore has already approved the establishment of The Climate Project Indonesia, which right now I am entrusted to lead.

The next slide is the State of the Future, which makes us truly pay attention to what exactly is going on and what we should do. It reads in red letters, “climate change.” This is a concern of many people around the world, including the lack of clean water, desertification, rising food prices and increased energy as already described in the previous audiovisual. We can see that climate change is a global phenomenon. It is a global phenomenon that occurs everywhere.

So what we do here could affect those in other countries. And what can be done in other countries will also affect us here. So there are greenhouse gas emissions due to human activities that are causing greenhouse effects, which then cause global warming. If the Earth gets increasingly hot, then the climate will change. With climate change, there will be more and more disasters emerging as had been envisaged, as we often see in the news.

The following is information about the difference between weather and climate. In fact, the climate is long-term, so about 10 years, 20 years, 30 years, whereas the weather is present, such as temperature, and now cold…there is melting ice, moisture, and so forth. So, climate change is a change in weather patterns. So, when the weather patterns change, it's called climate change.

Next, we see one image that was taken by astronauts from space with a camera. We see pictures of the Earth, generally satellite images. We all realize that the world is finite. Next, we see, for example, if we make the Earth flat, this is similar to what we see in the atlas that our children or our youngsters have in their school lessons. According to the latest data, forests cover 30% of land area on Earth.

Next, we see that the Earth actually has a “blanket,” but the “blanket” is disturbed. Why is it disturbed? It was disturbed by the greenhouse gases, as we see in the picture below. This was the change in land use: the use of fossil fuels, forest fires, the use of factories. These all emit greenhouse gases. There are six greenhouse gases regulated in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

But what is often measured is carbon dioxide. So, many of those gases are equated with carbon dioxide. From livestock, we see that there is also a mention of methane. Waste management also emits methane, agriculture and biomass burning, etc. However, the global warming potential of methane is 21 times greater than carbon dioxide. Mostly the greenhouse gases are from industries.

Next, we see the situation in Indonesia. We see the position of Indonesia on the map makes it highly vulnerable to climate change, especially to sea level rise. Where are the most emissions coming from? If we see the white line, 84% of our greenhouse gas emissions come from deforestation and also from peatlands. We see emissions from developed countries are not from deforestation, they are from industries - from electricity, and so forth. So, if we want to reduce greenhouse gases, of course, we must see where our greatest contribution comes from; that's where we will try to overcome it.

This gives us an illustration that, in fact, we have a lot of topics related to food. We see that the agricultural sector has become the main source of methane emissions, i.e. 59% of the total national emissions. This data comes from the Department of Agriculture. There are six greenhouse gases being regulated; but, actually, there are other greenhouse gases with greenhouse effects.

What is greenhouse gas effect? This is an actual greenhouse. For example, if any one of you have been to Holland, it's cold there, isn't it? The greenhouses are regulated so the plants can grow well and bloom beautifully. Now, the roof is like a blanket on our Earth. We will see the explanation in the next slide.

When the sun shines on Earth, a great part of the energy is absorbed; it has to be absorbed. We see there is an Earth “blanket,” then it's reflected back. A big part of that energy is being reflected. But as the Earth “blanket” gets thicker due to the gases emitted, instead of being reflected, they re-enter the Earth again; thus the Earth becomes warmer. Next, we will see what will happen if the Earth gets warmer. It was mentioned before that we have climate change. We have seen the ice melting. Within 20 years it will turn into this.

That is in the northern hemisphere. This is a ski area in Europe - the ice has disappeared. The hotels are still there but there are no more skiers, thus the economy is suffering. And next, we will see again the southern hemisphere facing the same situation. We see that in 1939, it was like that. A few decades later, in 2001, they were gone. The horrible thing is that this is what may happen to the Himalayan glaciers or the ice caps in the Himalayan mountains, because this is the source of seven big rivers in that area - such as the Ganges River, Brahmaputra River, Salween, Yellow River, etc.

So, what will happen if the ice caps in the Himalayas are gone? More than 40% of world's population, about 3 billion people, depend on the Himalayas as a source of water, so definitely they will lose their source of fresh water. These are data on the warmest 10 years that have ever been recorded. They were the warmest years, all of them are above the average of 1998.

The increased utilization of fossil fuels by humans will make the Earth warmer. Next, what we see is what happened in India - the temperature rises to 50 degrees Celsius. I have just returned from a meeting with The Indonesian Peasant Alliance. They said, “Madam, not just India, in Indramayu we also had 50 degrees Celsius.” So this shows that it's a global phenomenon. It is everywhere. Next is information on what happened in Pakistan: 52 degrees Celsius. Of course, there were victims. And next, what we see is that since the 1970s, the storms have been getting bigger, stronger and longer in duration. This is a study from MIT, quoted by Al Gore. Next we will see a picture from NASA.

Imagine, on September 2, 2008, there were four storms in a row. Maybe you still remember what happened with Katrina. We can imagine what will happen if four storms - Josephine, Ike, Hanna, Gustav - took turns in hitting one area, and this is a sign of climate change. So we have many storms. Next, we will see the victims of the storms. This is in Greensburg, Kansas - it is heavily damaged. Now, they started rebuilding in Green Greensburg. So they are using sustainable energy. This shows that it's a global phenomenon, not only in Kansas, not only in Greensburg. This is Yogyakarta. The school activities are disrupted due to the storms. And next is in areas where there had never been any tornadoes, close to Monas.

The City Hall of Jakarta has experienced this. This is April 2009. Floods and droughts are everywhere. Next is the state of Washington. Why do I show this picture? Because Washington State is the birthplace of Bill Gates, one of the richest men in the world. He also cannot escape the flooding. Then, next, we will see again that Europe - which normally is never flooded - is also being flooded. So, infrastructures are also very much affected. And next, we will see my hometown in Gorontalo. Droughts - farmers are facing failing harvests. So, floods and droughts are everywhere. And next, we will see the impacts in the world.

For Indonesia, this is horrifying, in my opinion. In 2008, disasters related to climate: floods 20%, landslides 25%, tsunamis 13%, tornadoes 33% - most are climate related. And next, we will see impacts of climate change on farming. It can affect the fields... flooded with water. But, it can also become barren. These are the phenomena. So, if for instance in the oceans, there is warming, then there is evaporation. There are winds that suit certain temperatures; then storms will emerge. Meanwhile, if the region is warming up, then it will become cracked like below.

What we will see next is how, with on agriculture, patterns of cultivation are changing. Definitely this will affect the produce that we grow. Next, we see that farmers in rain reservoir lands will change their harvest patterns or neglect their land, if the rainfalls and runoffs are decreasing or increasing. There was a farmer who told me, “We want to keep this planet, not for it to get warmer, but the land is not ours.” They are just workers. “So because we don't own any land, we were forced to clear new land. We want to protect this Earth, but we don't have land of our own, so we were forced to clear land.” I've heard many stories like this.

Next, we see what is happening in the North Pole. Using data from NASA in 1980, like this, next we see in 2007 the sea ice has lessened, animals are losing their habitats. In this picture, we see what is happening in the South Pole. The red one, in this picture of the South Pole, it is getting hotter. And what is at the South Pole? We just saw a polar bear at the South Pole, then we see penguins that have lost their habitat. They are the indicators of the health of this planet. If the Earth is getting sicker in the north and in the south, we, in the equatorial area, will surely get affected sooner or later.

In the next slide we see the Maldives. Maybe you have heard that they were having a cabinet meeting under water. I met the ministers. Actually, they said that they are already desperate. The sea level has started to rise and their land is only one meter above the sea level. And they are going to find land for a new country. The situation is of grave concern. This is infrastructure affected by sea level rise. Next, we see Calcutta, India, which has been affected. “Climigration” refers to people who migrate due to climate change. If the sea level rises to six meters, then the number of refugees will be 400 million because they will lose their homes.

What can we do? So, adaptation - we adjust or change the pattern of development. Or, mitigation - we mitigate and reduce emissions. If we don't do these two things, we will suffer a lot. These are examples of adaptation: for example, adjust the crop pattern and avoid digging the soil on the slopes. Next, we see adaptation maps created by scientists. So, we can see which areas are vulnerable to climate change. Next, we see adaptation-planning for climate change in agriculture.

The next slide shows examples of mitigation: we can plant trees, we can save energy, we can stop burning garbage. And next we see the use of sustainable energy, energy efficiency or reducing emissions. We must do this for the sake of our nation. Because we can see here, the dot on the right side, this is our Earth, 4.5 billion kilometers from the Earth's surface. We are nothing in this universe. We have to do something.

Especially if we see from the last slide the amount of clean water on Earth compared to its volume, shown on the left side - only that small dot is left. Meanwhile, the amount of clean air remaining on this planet, as compared to its volume, is this pink dot on the right side. We have to do something. Peace be upon you.

MC(m): Many thanks once again to Ms. Amanda Katili Niode for sharing this valuable information with us. We can see from your presentation that time is running out, and we must all play our part to bring about a brighter future for this world.

MC(f): Indonesia needs to both maintain economic development and cope with climate change at the same time. If we try to reduce only CO2 emissions, not only will we consume huge amounts of money, but our efforts may not have a fast enough effect on climate change. If we adopt the vegan diet, we can definitely curb climate change in the quickest and most efficient manner, without any adverse costs to economy. This approach also enables all of our brothers and sisters across the country to live in prosperity.

MC(m): Indonesia's natural beauty inspires us. Talented, environmentally conscious individuals share their inspiration with us through the avenue of music and song composition. Now, it is our great pleasure to introduce a very special and well-known local musician, artist and environmentalist, Nugie. Through the songs he will perform today, he shows his love for nature and deep concern for our animal friends. Let us enjoy his songs together. A big hand for Nugie.

Nugie(m): Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Green regards from me. I hope you will answer it with “forever.” Green regards. (Q(audience): Forever). Thank you.
Actually, I wrote the song for the International Climate Change Conference in Bali in 2007. And this song has become a theme song for the conference in Bali, and hopefully it's going to be a theme song for all humankind in the world.

The environmental problem must be handled by all of us, people who live on Earth. And the only way to overcome it is by sharing with our fellow human beings throughout the Earth. Look around you Water is fading to nowhere Does it move your heart? Look around you Hungry eyes bear hunger Does it touch your soul? While we are here, greedily consuming without knowing the limit Look around you Green forests are turning into desert Does it touch your heart? O look around you People struggle to survive Does it stir your soul?

While we have everything here Can we survive If we don't start to act now? Share with the world The warming Earth needs us Share with the world Open your eyes and heart to share Let's share Reach out your hands Never doubt, my friend The world is calling for us to act For our Earth, for our one Earth While we are here, greedily consuming Share with the world The warming Earth needs us Share with the world Open your eyes and heart to share Share with the world The warming Earth needs us Share with the world Open your eyes and heart to share Share with the world The warming Earth needs us Let's share.

Nugie (m): Thank you. It is a privilege for me to be here in this place, because I am sure that the audience here is very concerned and wishes to do something for the Earth. And I am very, very appreciative of this invitation, and this one is coming from my album. This song makes me learn a lot about the harmonious relationships between human beings and nature.

Fly away, one of its fragile feathers Its beak down as in mourning Will I be able to sing to greet the morning? Leaping hastily to a pine branch Remembering its chick learning to fly To continue its duty, coloring the Earth Blow, my wind, carry my song Wave, my leaves, follow my flapping wings

MC(m): Wow, What a beautiful voice, Nugie! Thank you, Nugie. Thank you for touching us with your songs and raising awareness and compassion for the environment. Let us hope more and more people join together and act now for climate change!

I am Anton Budiono. I am a physician at Mintoharjo Navy Hospital and the Head of the Sub Department of Hyperbaric Medicine and Acupuncture Herbal Medicine Department. I am a Master of Science in Hyperbaric Medicine and Master of Pharmacy in Natural Medicine. My message is:

Please be veg! Go green! And save our planet! Thank you!

Dr Hira Jhamhani (f): I think this seminar is very good for educating society. I saw many people asking what global warming is, greenhouse gas effect, etc. People will understand more in relation to the organic, vegan diet. This is also providing the solution on an individual level. Be veg! Go green! Save the planet!

MC(f): Since 1970, droughts of greater intensity and longer duration have been observed across ever wider regions of the planet, especially in the tropics and subtropics. We cannot afford to waste water. Meat production uses massive amounts of water, taking up to 1,200 gallons of fresh water to produce just one serving of beef! Research by University of Chicago Professors, Dr. Gidon Eshel and Dr. Pamela Martin, found that being vegetarian for one year reduces emissions by 1.5 tons when compared to the standard American diet.

This reduction is 50% greater than that of switching from an SUV to a hybrid car. So being veg is more effective than changing your car! In contrast, a full vegan meal requires only 98 gallons of water. Currently, most of our food and water is being consumed by the meat industry instead of by people. However, there is still hope! It is such a relief that the solution is simple - just be vegan!

MC(m): And next, we will be hearing from Ms. Hira Jamtani. She will share with us the benefits of an organic vegan diet for improving the welfare of farmers and society as a whole. Ms. Hira Jamtani is an associate of the Third World Network based in Bali, Indonesia. She is a researcher on environmental issues and is very passionate about her work. Let's give a warm welcome to Ms. Hira Jamtani!

HJ(f): Good evening. May God bless you.
HJ(f): Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, friends. I just want to tell you a very sad story, one of those horror stories that you hear when you go out in the fields and meet farmers, okay? A farmer called Made Jojo in Bali, (Indonesian name) on this beautiful island where I live, one day had just sprayed his fields with pesticides. Half an hour later when he was eating, or he had wanted to eat, he fell down and fainted. Of course, there was panic - nobody knew why, nobody had beaten him up, nothing - just fell down and fainted.

And, of course, the family was in a panic, and they tried to bring him to the hospital, but he actually died on the way to the hospital. Being in a village, of course, there is this distance between the village where he lived and the nearest hospital. The doctor diagnosed him as being intoxicated - poisoning in other words. Three million people are poisoned every year in the world because of what we use in our fields. And many of us sometimes cannot relate to who produced the food, and how they produce it, to what we eat, especially in the cities. And this is the story about that which will then relate to global warming issues.

So what we are going to share with you today is the poison in our food and the poverty among farmers because these are related. Please remember when you eat your food, it is the farmers that produce your food, so we need to relate to farmers. And why and what is organic agriculture? Also, how does it relate to health, income and the environment? So when we talk about the environment, we will relate it to climate change later on. What is happening is, as I said, we are often not aware that we eat food produced by those who are intoxicated by pesticides.

Now, if a farmer can fall down, faint and die, can you imagine the kind of food that is on our table? We are talking about farmers who grow our food and are dying because of using these pesticides. Then, also our food is produced using chemicals that do not provide nutrition, although sometimes people think of it as medicine for the plants. It is not providing any nutrition but it actually poses a danger to our body.

But, most importantly, what we do in this so-called modern agriculture is we are poisoning the very resources that we use for farming - our soil and our water. Not only do we have a shortage of water, but that little water available is intoxicated, it is poisoned, because of what chemicals we put in the water system. And in doing so, what we do is we are endangering our future generation, if they survive the climate change. We are endangering our future generation because of climate change and if they survive the climate change, we still have to deal with this poisoning of the resources.

So, what we have is: nobody ever counts, no economist anywhere in the world tells us how much money we spend or what is the loss of people that are poisoned by pesticides. These are pictures of what happens to our farmers when they are poisoned by pesticides. And the residue is even in mother's milk, in the researches here in Indonesia, not anywhere else.

These are the figures that we have. At least 14 million farmers we know are intoxicated, although the potential is about 40 million farmers. And also it has been found that in Central Java, women farmers also are prone, 79% more prone to poisoning, to having miscarriage because of the poisons. So, as I said, we are also endangering our own children in the process.

Now, when we talk to the government and the scientists who develop this, they say, “Well, but we need more production in order to feed people.” The big question is then: Why are people still hungry? We saw the video, it was 800 million. This slide was made for, more in Asia. And out of that 800 million, 500 million are in Asia, the continent where we live. These are hungry people. And when you see who are the hungry people, you will be surprised that it is the farmers who grow our food that also go hungry.

Can you see the logic of the way our economy is having? So, 400 million farm households actually go hungry despite the advertisements of chemical fertilizers and chemical pesticides that this will give you welfare. If they are healthy, then how do you answer this statistics? So, the very people who grow the food which we eat in the cities are actually hungry.

Please keep that in mind because it relates to how we treat our farmers. And because of the inequity, this whole modern system actually benefits the large farms and not the small farms. And because of the inequity, the smaller farmers go into debt. So this is what happens. So, we have more production but less welfare.

So now, the solution is quite simple. As with any other solution - it's a matter of whether we want to do it or not - and that is organic agriculture. Now, what is organic agriculture? Most people think it is just, you don't use chemicals but it's more than that. You don't use chemicals, you don't use genetically modified organisms and, most importantly, you use local resources -whether it is the seeds or the non-chemical fertilizers.

The most important thing is that it is sustainable in the sense that you do not pollute and you do not use the resources unnecessarily. So, it goes well into the future. That's why we call it “sustainable organic farming.” That is actually the right term. And one of the most important things is that it provides farmers' welfare. Remember when we talked about farmers not being in welfare and that farmers become independent in terms of the production input? So, when we look at organic agriculture, we look at it as a holistic thing, not just substituting the agro-chemicals with non-chemicals. It is also a matter of how do we make farmers' welfare and how do we ensure that the consumers get healthy food, and affordable. We all want affordable food, but we also don't want to make the farmers poor, right? So I'm just giving you some of the definitions.

Now, what and how? Again, the organic farming. We were talking about climate change and 18% of the greenhouse gas emission actually in the entire world - 18-20 actually - comes from agriculture. And that is the industrialized agriculture; a whole chunk of it is the meat industry. So it is rightly said, if you change the diet, but you must also change the industrialization of the agriculture, then you actually do a lot of mitigation and adaptation for climate change. And it provides a safe and healthy process; it reduces the poison in the environment. Of course, we hope it not only reduces but it eliminates totally the poison. We hope to do that. And please remember that we need to also increase the income of farmers. That's how we look at it.

In terms of health, because of the less poisoning or at least in places where the chemicals have not penetrated, then you actually have food which is totally devoid of chemical substances. Then you have safe food. But what is more important is you have more nutritional food. This has been proven in various journals scientifically that organic food has more nutrition, because it does not retain so much water.

If you keep organic food more than one week, it still stays, compared to the conventional farming method. And in that process, you also have healthier wildlife. In Europe and in the US, people are having trouble now because many vegetables and fruits are not well developed because they have lost the insects that are supposed to do the pollination. And why do they lose these insects? Because they have sprayed pesticides everywhere. I will give you the example of durian. “If there is no bat, there is no durian.” [kalau tidak ada kelelawar tidak ada durian. = “If there is no bat, there is no durian” in Indonesian] So, if we don't have the bats, you don't get the durian to fruit. But if you spray pesticides, then the bats are also poisoned, so you don't get a durian harvest. And that is very dangerous. Unless you do it of course - you put the pollen into the durian flowers.

HJ(f): In Indonesian, we say manual pollination will do. But if not, we need bats.
This is what one of the farmers who has switched to organic has said. He actually said that now we know we need healthy food and when we produce healthy food, we as farmers are also healthy. People are always telling me, “Can you really live on organic farming? Can Indonesia survive on organic farming?” And we see that there are indications - yes, we can, as long as we do it properly. And this is an analysis from Africa that you see - there's an increase of productivity by 116%. But also worldwide there's been research of over 20 years worldwide: the cereal yields have gone up from 50 to 200%. And the third one is important. In developing countries like Indonesia, actually 80% higher harvests.

So, we do have evidence: as long as you combine the new technology, the agro-ecosystem and you provide independence to the farmers and policy support. So, many of you who are from government people here, the policy support is very much needed. So, I'm just giving you an example of what is called the System Rice Intensification. It uses less water, it's organic-based, it uses only local-based materials. And if we do this, we actually save water by 46%, but also we don't have to open up more land for rice. Then, you have less land, but more productivity.

This is the environmental benefit. We retain biodiversity and we retain wildlife. One of the things that surprised me when I saw the fruit plate is, of course, the imported fruits on that plate. Because many of us have lost the taste for the diversity of fruits that we have, because of the way we produce food in a monocultural way, which then includes the chemicals.

So when you go back to organic agriculture, you also create a bigger base for other seeds. I've seen it in Bali when we tell farmers to go back to organic agriculture - the old seeds survive. They start collecting the old seeds. And these seeds are actually adapted to climate change. They use less water and all that. You don't have to do a big experiment in the lab, you actually talk to the farmers and they tell you which seeds are available.

This is another study in the Philippines. What we are going to say is that it is not just the income, but the fact that farmers are more organized and they become more independent. That's why I use the word “welfare.” It's not just about eating, but it's about feeling that you are in the right direction in life. And I think that's important. Okay, so my message is that when we, aside from making sure that the soil is healthy, we also need to make sure that the food growers are in welfare which creates welfare for ourselves.

And this welfare is based on local organic agriculture, on local knowledge systems, seeds, and foods. We have forgotten this. When we talk about climate change, when you switch to this, you actually reduce a lot of emissions. We eat fruits that are grown in our locality rather than buy imported fruits for instance. That is very important.

Now, in line with the theme of today's seminar, having been a vegetarian for the past 20 years, I can easily relate to the theme - vegan and organic. If you eat less meat, it's true that you reduce emissions a lot. If you eat less meat and organic, you reduce even more emissions. If you eat less meat, organic, and local, you reduce even more emissions.

And this is a solution that you can do at the individual level, that you don't wait for the experts or the government to do anything. It's a choice. You can make this choice. And I think this seminar is very valuable in teaching us towards that. You make that choice. Because 80% of the emissions in industrialized farming actually goes into meat production. And one of the reasons I became vegetarian was the inequity in which animals are fed with grains that should have gone to humans.

So you're actually depriving people when you eat meat, depriving hungry people of their grain. And I think that's a serious issue that we need to take up ethically in our own individual life. So now, we do have a vision. You know, we saw Madam Amanda's [Ibu =“Madam” in Indonesian] presentation about climate change, how bad it is, and so do we want to see our children like this?

Refugees in 2050? Everything now the experts say 2050. Or do we want to see this?
The vision is your choice. I have made a choice, I want to see this baby growing up the organic way. So you make your choice. Thank you very much.

MC(m): Thank you, Ms. Hira Jamtani, for sharing with us your valuable insights. Ladies and gentlemen, we are delighted and honored that you have set aside some of your precious time and joined us today to learn more about the threats, the causes and the most effective solutions to curb climate change. As we have heard, just an organic vegan diet improves our lifestyle both ecologically and compassionately.

MC(f): In support for Ms. Hira, if you, ladies and gentlemen, if you look in front of here, we actually have locally organic Padi plants here and look how beautiful they are. So we should really support our local organic farming. Perhaps you might even want to try at home, in your back garden? Thank you. Organic fruits and vegetables are not just better for the environment, they contain no pesticides or fertilizers, use lower resources and, therefore, are healthier for you as well. For more information, please consult the links available on Supreme Master Television's website at www.SupremeMasterTV.com. There is an abundance of free information available on the internet that is compiled by research of world acclaimed scientists and reputable organizations.

MC(m): And now, ladies and gentleman, in one minute, it will be time for all of us to take a short prayer. It's our tradition and we would like to invite audience members to pray for a sustainable planet for all. After the prayer, special guests of honor will share some very important messages. Thank you very much. MC(f): Thank you.

MC(m): Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests and worldwide viewers, welcome back to our seminar, “Vegan Organic for Prosperity and to Save the Planet from Climate Change.”

MC(f): We need to raise awareness amongst all people, both here in Indonesia and around the world. Let us spread the word to our friends and relatives. We pray that many more will join us in changing their daily eating habits and adopt a frugal lifestyle. If everyone on this planet makes the effort and changes, food shortage problems will be greatly solved, and greatly accelerating our planet's healing process. Time is crucial. We must all do our part to save the planet. Being vegan is not only for prosperity and posterity, but it is also very healthy for us. It gives me great pleasure to introduce our next speaker, Dr. Anton Budiono, who, as a medical doctor, is someone who cares very much about both our health and the health of our planet.

MC(m): Dr. Budiono graduated from the University of Indonesia in 1986. He is a navy doctor and an expert in natural therapy. His talk today is titled “Vegan Raw Food as the Best Alternative Diet for Human Health.” Let us welcome Dr. Anton Budiono!

AB(m): Good afternoon, respected audience! I will present some of the advantages of being vegetarian from the health perspective. Another speaker pointed out that vegetarianism is necessary based on emissions or from other points of view. I will describe the health aspects, mostly based on my experience while maintaining my practice in the clinic. Normally there are many debates on whether it is necessary to be a vegetarian or not, and I myself had the same experience before becoming a vegetarian. Is it necessary to be a vegetarian? If we do not consume meat it is said that our body will become weak. I tried to work out a way to find the right answer. Then, deep in my heart, I realized I had to be a person who only consumed vegetables.

Why? Because I cannot bear to see chickens and cows being slaughtered. When cows are at their productive age, they have to work hard and when they get old, instead of being well taken care of, they are slaughtered. I felt that this is not fair, and then I thought it must be wrong that we have to eat like this. During my search, I found two methods of approach: by science, with its basis in religion. My religion is Catholicism. I try to read a lot to find what the true way of life is, starting from the food aspect. Later on in the Bible I found that at the beginning of creation, if we return to the course of our creation, which is to our God, well, it has to be correct, right? Logic says it is.

Now what was it that I read in the Bible that happened on the first day? It was the separation between day and night. Then on the second day, it was the creation of the horizon, that is the separation between air and water, then land. And after the land, then plants were created. Then morning and night were created. Then animals were created, then afterwards humans. Then on the seventh day, all was completed. This is according to my belief.

It was cited in the Bible in Genesis 1:29. God said, “Behold, I have given you…” `you' here refers to humans, “…every herb-bearing seeds which are upon the face of the Earth and every tree that has fruit with seeds in it,” and it was emphasized, “this shall be your food.” So, it is obvious here what shall be our number 1 food - fruits. And then next in Genesis 3:18, “Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and plants on the field shall be your food.” So, first it was fruits, second, vegetables, because it was mentioned there are plants.

So, the conclusion is that since the beginning of creation humans were created as vegetarian beings. Yes, and then later the murder occurred in which blood was shed on Earth - that's when humans became fierce. Killings started to happen, blood was shed on Earth, and that included the eating of animal flesh. Nowadays, it is so apparent; we can see that. Many had eaten the so-called "4Bs." What is the first “B” (B1)? I did not know that beforehand. B1 means "Bian"(dog). It turns out that they eat dogs. It is terrifying to hear such things because I am a dog lover. Second, there is B2. What is B2? It turns out to be pigs. They eat pigs, then they eat dogs. Third, they eat babies as well. Yes, the fourth one again, some did not eat pigs but I am sorry to say that they "eat" the maids.

This is even more chaotic, and it became more complicated. They "eat" the maids, the single ones. They molested the maids. It is hard to accept that humans are degrading to the worst state, because since the beginning, they have disobeyed what had been arranged by the Almighty. That's it. This point of view has already been described by the previous speaker, that livestock farming contributes around 18%- 20% of all emissions, of the total human- produced emissions, with transportation being around 13%. From this we know that actually the main source of carbon emissions is not from engine combustion, but it is mainly from the livestock industry which provides us with available meat.

It has also been announced that reducing meat consumption and increasing plant-based consumption is one of the ways that we can save the Earth. So, we already have the final countdown: time is running short then it will be finished. Let's just hope that all of us, as vegans, will be saved by the mercy of the Almighty. Because we do not know, right? Healthy, healthy, healthy. If one is healthy, the brain might function well. Hopefully our prayers will be granted. Now, we go a little bit into the health aspect, which is my specialty. It is easy to detect if humans are sick or if they are healthy.

If they are declared to be sick, it should be based on a blood check or that the urine must be acidic. What does acidic mean? In chemistry, if the PH number is 7, then it's neutral. Below 7 is acidic, above 7 is alkaline. Almost all cancer patients I have met, their PH number is 4.5 or 5.5. so it's below the ideal PH of 7.35-7.45. This also includes chronic and incurable diseases. The only key is to make your blood become alkaline. How are we going to do this? It's easy. We get rid of the acid, we add in the alkaline. It's that simple.

And it will progress with time, it will turn back the wheel and those who are sick will become healthy again. Remember the human body is a computer, a super computer, which is incredibly smart. Give it the right food, and that's it! It will regulate all by itself. But here comes the role of the individual - if it's for health, then it's herbal, only herbs can speed up the process. What does this mean? If we have liver problem will we recover ? by becoming a vegetarian? Yes, we will recover. But it will take some time.

But with the herbal power here, we can. This herb is special for the liver, and it also helps other organs, thus the healing process will accelerate very quickly. If you have not seen a doctor, it is not necessary, just be vegetarian, you will definitely be cured. Just wait for a while and believe. Yes, believe “I will be healed just like this.” Even cancer, which we have been told is incurable. Here, I give three months, it will be cured. This was my advice before.

Please don't eat acidic foods. Don't eat meat. Also, food processed with oil and dried is definitely acidic. Sugar is acidic. Processed food must be preserved with acid - benzoic acid, nitric acid. The food even tastes sour when eaten. That's not good. But then there are questions such as: “Oranges are sour, if this gets into our body, does it become acidic?” No, that's the wonder of plants!

Even if they're sour in the first place, our body turns them alkaline. The sourness has its own role to play. The sour taste will not turn into acid in our body, but it draws the active substance to the liver. It will not turn into acid in our body so drinking orange juice is okay. It will turn it into alkaline, especially after we drink sour juices, if we exercise, it will be burnt and all turn into alkaline.

So we have no problem having vegetables and fruits despite their sour taste; our body it will turn them into alkaline and we will become healthier, mentally and physically. If you are faced with the following symptoms, it means your body is acidic already: for instance, bloated stomach, constipation. We have lots of this in the clinic, these kind of sicknesses, that have been seen by many doctors but never cured. If it is only bloated stomach and constipation then the medication is very simple. Just be a vegetarian. You will be cured normally within three weeks.

Now, if the body weight keeps increasing, the body must be acidic… including getting the flu, coughing very often. Other people, when soaked by rain even just a little bit, may get sick immediately. If an “acidic” person sit next to a friend who has the flu, he/she will get infected. Actually, if we are exposed to rain for an hour, it should be okay. Working until late at night should be no problem. It means his/her body normally is alkaline.

When the oral ulceration cannot be healed, it is said to be due to a lack of vitamin C. Taking 2 grams of vitamin C every day, no one will get cured. If it was due to acidic substance, he/she will not be cured. Easily tired, lack of energy? Waking up early, but the body does not feel fresh, and still feels tired, it still wants some sleep? That means the body is acidic. If the skin also has a problem, reddish skin or a kind of psoriasis or eczema... it is said that psoriasis cannot be cured.

Actually, by changing our diet, it will be cured. It takes 3-4 months to be cured. Then chronic allergies, hypertension - hypertension will also take 3 weeks to be cured. If following a vegan diet, it will be 95% cured Then cholesterol, uric acid, high blood sugar, too. Body odor, oral or feet - it is not necessary to apply any medicine, but by taking something which has a cleansing quality, it will be completely cured. And it's permanently cured, it really gets cured. Now, joints and muscle pains, especially when waking up in the morning. When you wake up, if your body is stiff along the whole body, it is difficult to move around. That means the body must be acidic.

Now, for ourselves, if we want to know how to check the acid from these symptoms, please check yourself by using litmus paper. The paper, if immersed in acid will turn red. If alkaline, blue. Now, when you urinate in the morning, if you have the litmus paper, catch the urine In midstream, then immerse the paper. What is the color? If it's red, then it's acidic. It means you are sick. If the color is blue consistently, you have been healed. It takes time to be healed. These are alkaline foods. All vegetables and fruits are alkaline, plus minerals.

This shows that God's pharmacy is wonderful. It has been scientifically researched, and secondly, we see it in a simple fashion; it's not necessary to go for a Ph.D. Look for a while and we will understand immediately, because we have been shown the signs of what each of these are meant for. God's pharmacy is really wonderful! Look at this slice of carrot. It looks like an eye, right? In the middle is the pupil, at the edge is the iris. The image in the middle and the radial lines are very similar to the iris and pupil.

Indeed science has shown that carrots are very beneficial to the blood circulation and the function of the eye's receptor cell. And I will definitely use this for people with any eye sickness, and totally blind or partially blind people. I will prescribe carrots as the basic material for my therapy. That's my patient who lost his eyesight. Within three months, after switching to a vegetarian diet, he could see. This is real evidence. And it is not just one person. One person may be a coincidence, but many people have already changed their diet and have been healed. It turns out to be very simple.

This one is a tomato. People say the tomato is normally for prostate, but it can actually be for heart disease, because it looks like a ventricle. This one is also for the heart because it is said to contain resveratrol. This is a walnut, it looks like a brain - walnuts. So people who are afraid of senility, please eat walnuts. These are kidney beans. If the kidney has problems, eat kidney beans. It looks like a kidney. This is celery, it looks like bone. So anyone with bone or muscle problems, or arthritis, please eat celery, eat a lot of celery. Avocado… it looks like a woman's genital organ. So, anyone with menstruation problems, please look for this and eat it. This is a fig. If you are barren, or impotent, look for this. Sweet potatoes, this looks like the pancreas.

So, people with diabetes are allowed to eat sweet food if it is made from sweet potatoes. Olives are for the ovary. So, anyone with a menstrual disorder, please eat olives, both the oil and the fruit itself. This one is for women. If you have problems with breast gland pains during menstruation, please eat plenty of oranges. According to research, they contain limonine, which helps prevent breast cancer. Red onion - a toxin discharger for our cells, restoring damage caused to our cell membranes due to free radicals. These are the comparisons for you to switch to a vegetarian diet. Thanks for your attention.

MC(m): Thank you, Dr. Budiono, for your enlightening presentation.

Fredy Nuril(m): I do not understand very well what global warming is; that's one of the reasons why I came here, so I could learn about it. I learned something about the benefits of the organic vegan diet to stop global warming here. I work in the entertainment industry and my working schedule is not regular, so it has to be supported by appropriate food. Maybe this organic, vegan diet can support my lifestyle also. Society must now be more open-minded and be more healthy. Hi, I am Fredy Nuril. I am an actor. Be veg! Go green! And save the planet!

Domino (m): This event was very interesting. It has opened our minds and made us aware of the global situation of the world at this moment. Domino (m): May we care more for our Earth, and do more to preserve it. May more and more people become vegan, become vegetarian, so that the Earth can become healthier.

Be veg! Go green! And save the planet!

Tari Pendet is a ritual dance that is usually performed in Balinese temples to welcome the gods before special ceremonies. The dance is presented here today by Association members along with their friends as a welcome gesture to all of us present here, as well as to all the Supreme Master Television live viewers that are with us here in spirit.

MC(f): In our last presentation, Professor Aris Ananta will elaborate more on the determinants of the availability of food based on three points, and they are: speculative economy, demand, and supply.

MC(m): Professor Aris Ananta is a senior researcher at the Institute of South East Asian Studies in Singapore. He will be presenting a working paper titled “Paradigm on Economic Development and Food Security.” Let us welcome Professor Aris Ananta!

AA(m): Thank you very much.
AA(m): This is very timely, actually, very timely. Why? The first one you know - we are experiencing a global crisis, and the world is now thinking about new development paradigms. Without new development paradigms, the crisis will happen again and worse. Now, you know that the financial sector has been improving, but that is very fragile. No fundamental changes have been made in the mainstream economics. I am an economist, but I'd like to change the development paradigm of economics. Many people in the world are also working in that direction.

So this seminar is very, very timely. We, from Indonesia, can contribute to the world development paradigm. Second: Why it is very timely? This morning, the new government of Indonesia just appointed a new cabinet. And one thing that makes me happy is the appointment of Professor Dr. Armida Alisjahbana as the chairperson of the National Development Planning Agency. Professor Alisjahbana is an economist with much concern about the environment. So, I hope it reflects the choice of the government on economists with interest in the environment.

Hopefully, with the assignment of Professor Alisjahbana as the head of the National Development Planning Agency, we can change the direction of development, change the direction of economic programs in Indonesia. Well, I would like also to thank the State Minister of Environment for inviting me, allowing me to share my ideas with this distinguished audience, and especially also that Supreme Master Ching Hai, hopefully, will be listening to me, too, and we could work together in changing the development paradigm. What I want to mention… actually, only three things.

First, change the development paradigm. I tell this especially to my fellow economists - change the development paradigm from a growth-oriented model to something else. So far, we always, we economists, talk about income growth as the most important thing in the world. But we have to change that development paradigm. The second message is: eliminate speculative behavior in the economy. We know that speculative behavior has been the cause of the crisis in the world. And people are doing speculative behavior in the financial sector. They are not happy on that one, they go to the energy market, they go to the food market. So, to create food security we have to work together, everybody in the world, and we, in Indonesia, have to eliminate speculative behavior in the market, including speculative behavior in the food market.

In Indonesia, we have Islamic economics and this can be used to eliminate speculative behavior. The third message is that we have to involve the business community to be able to implement the new development paradigm. Without the involvement of the business community, it is impossible to do this thing. We have to know Indonesia has a 230-million population. It's a big, big market. Everybody wants to use Indonesia, it's a big market. Why don't we see ourselves as a big market? And the new government, I believe, now also understands this one.

And I'd like to show you that not many people are already in the business of making organic, vegan food. So why do you not join it now, while not many people are working in the organic food market? It is a lucrative business, 230 million-population Indonesia, produced locally like Madam Hira mentioned. Another important thing, it's not only a lucrative business, but the price must be affordable, the price must be low so that we can reach the 230-million population of Indonesia.

Why do I like to be here, ladies and gentlemen? Tonight there are free delicious organic, vegan foods! Last thing, but importantly, is good governance. When we want to have food security, we have to remember good governance, we have to remember about social responsibility, we have to remember that when we produce food we should avoid corruption in the production and marketing of the food.

This is the new paradigm I have been talking about in the last year. So, I talked about food security in the framework of this new paradigm. These are some important issues on creating food security. First, I mentioned, that it must be environmentally friendly development, for example, by producing organic, vegan food. Good governance, by creating social responsibility, no corruption in production and marketing. It must be people-centered development. It should be healthy by consuming less meat and dairy products.

Make the consumers informed on the quality of the food product. Don't cheat the consumers, inform the consumers. Make people educated. That's also the responsibility of us who want to produce organic, vegan food. Third is: ability to move. That is, guaranteeing consumers the ability to move anywhere in the world to enjoy environmentally friendly healthy food and having freedom from fear, guaranteeing the freedom to consume whatever people like to consume. What should we do? We should help the government, we work with everybody, inform the people of the need to create an environmentally friendly and healthy lifestyle.

Make it as a new icon of modernity, that a modern man and woman, a modern boy and a modern girl, should be people who are concerned about the environment. The price should be low to be able to reach the majority of the large number of the population. This is to get the largest profit. We should bring gastronomy to help make it affordable and also tasty.

My friend said that when I brought him to eat vegetarian food and I asked him whether he liked it. He said, “I don't care if it's vegetarian or not, the most important for me is `delicious.'” So tasty food is also important and gastronomy should be included if we want to create an environment which is profitable in the business of organic, vegan food. Well, I become hungry, cannot wait for the dinner! Yes, it should be environment-friendly healthy products. It is an emerging, lucrative business.

The last recommendation is that one of the criteria to measure the success of a government is whether it can supply affordable, environmentally friendly, healthy food products to the majority of the population. I hope the government of Indonesia, every three months, can make a report whether they have been successful in supplying affordable, environmentally friendly, healthy food products - not only economic growths.

Economic growth is second or third. But this is a very important criterion and I believe the government of Indonesia can do it. Every three months, make a report to the whole population of Indonesia and the world whether it's already making progress in supplying affordable, environmentally friendly, healthy food in Indonesia. Thank you very much.

MC(f): Thank you, Professor Aris Ananta, for taking time out of your busy schedule to share such valuable information with us. Once again, there is a very strong call. Let us all spread the message about why it's important to become organic vegan today so that our beautiful planet and all living beings on her, become healthier, and so that we can all maintain our food security by shortening the chain of food production. We have now come to the end of our line-up of expert presentations.

We feel truly fortunate to be able to participate in this climate change seminar and sincerely thank the Ministry of Environment for hosting this very significant event. The Ministry of Environment considers this seminar as a timely and positive response to the unprecedented urgency with which we need to find a solution to the escalating problem of climate change.

MC(m): We would now like to invite you to join us in listening to some music that we are sure you will agree will calm our hearts and soothe our souls. This is a particularly soothing music called “Arumba,” played on traditional bamboo instruments which are uniquely Indonesian, and can be enjoyed by people from all walks of life. Sit back, relax and enjoy this beautiful music, performed by a young generation of musicians who aspire to carry on that musical tradition, whilst also caring about our living environment.

MC(f): The first music is a traditional Javanese piece. And the second music is a modern composition, named “Mission Impossible.” For some people, to save the world seems an impossible mission, but nothing is impossible for us if we are determined to work hand-in-hand to save the planet. We hope you enjoy them.

MC(f): Bamboo instruments originate from Indonesia and have been used and played by the Sundanese in West Java since ancient times. Sundanese people used “Angklung” to signify time for prayer as well as for building community spirit.

MC(m): And now, we invite you to look at the image displayed on the stage background. The symbol you see there is called the “Kayon” which, in Indonesia, represents change. We need constructive change right now to cope with climate change. Specifically, the change we need now is to adopt the vegan diet, and under the Kayon, you can see organic vegan images. Again, please give another round of applause for our young generation and their wonderful performance!

MC(f): So many people, both dedicated professionals and volunteers, have been involved in the preparation of this event. Many of us are aware of what climate change means to our beloved country through the significant impact it is already having on our daily lives. Recent occurrences of earthquakes and mudslides in Indonesia and neighboring countries show the seriousness of this problem. Scientists are also providing confirming evidence of the unstable and dangerous situation in which our planet finds herself.

MC(m): Next on our program is the highlight of today's seminar, a videoconference with our most beloved Supreme Master Ching Hai! We are sure that her honorable presence in this seminar will help to elevate the consciousness of the people in Indonesia, and of viewers around the world.

MC(f): Supreme Master Ching Hai is a renowned humanitarian, spiritual teacher, poet, composer and highly accomplished artist. For over two decades, she has devoted herself to helping people in need around the world and to promote an ecological and compassionate lifestyle. For her tremendous philanthropic contributions, in 2006 she received the prestigious Gusi Peace Prize award, which is equivalent to the Nobel Peace Prize of the East - just one example of countless awards she has received for her worldwide humanitarian works.

MC(m): And more recently, Supreme Master Ching Hai has provided support to the victims of many of the natural disasters occurring with greater frequency around the world. Indonesia has always had a special place in Master's heart. Whenever there was a disaster in Indonesia - be it a tsunami, a typhoon, an earthquake, or a flood - Supreme Master Ching Hai has always sent an immediate donation and relief teams to ease the suffering of our Indonesian people.

MC(f): Supreme Master Ching Hai has been invited to many international conferences to discuss global warming with scientists, politicians, journalists and many leaders from around the world. She has shared with them, and the public, the easiest and the most effective way to solve global warming, which has been supported by the United Nations and many other authorities and scientists as well. Supreme Master Ching Hai has been invited as guest of honor to attend this most meaningful event, and we are very, extremely, happy and honored that she can join us today through a videoconference.

MC(f): Supreme Master Ching Hai, before we begin our question-and-answer session, would you like to share some of your thoughts about climate change with us?

Supreme Master Ching Hai: I'd be honored to join you today. And I'm sure all of us already know, through the distinguished guest speakers, through their contribution of knowledge to our dire situation of the planet, but I'll be glad and honored to share a few thoughts. I hope everyone is okay. How are you? Are you okay? Feel good?

MC(f): We're really good, thank you, Master.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: Splendid. Splendid. I will try some Indonesian, like “Nice to see you!” [Senang bertemu Anda! =“Nice to see you” in Indonesian]

Supreme Master Ching Hai: I'm very honored to be here today and meet the beautiful people of Indonesia again, since a long time. And, of course, my heart would like to give the best of thanks to all the distinguished guest speakers, dignitaries and audience members, as well as the media for your participation and support. Indonesia, your country, is an amazing nation of many islands, beautiful, beautiful, with a variety of ethnic cultures that are harmonized through your national motto: “Unity in Diversity.” Beautiful motto.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: Yes, beautiful. Your land is also richly endowed with natural wonders, and a myriad of colorful living beings who live in the forest and beneath the seas around you. I was so sorry to know of the earthquake disaster recently that struck your communities. I had conveyed my humble prayers and some humble emergency support, and I'll continue to pray for the safety of your people, as I do for the rest of the people of the world.

On this shared island in space we call “Earth,” we have been abundantly given everything we need, but we must care for it while we still have the chance. Specifically, it is time to protect Indonesia. Protect her oceans and lush forest - the largest of all in Asia, is in Indonesia. I pray that through this important event all of us will be further motivated to preserve the beautiful country of Indonesia as one of the jewels of our planet. So I convey my best wishes for a successful conference today.

In just a few days, scientists from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change will be meeting in Bali. That's another beautiful place in your country. I have been there. May this gathering, significant in its own way, serve as a push for genuine concern for the momentum that we need to save our planet in time. May Allah bless you all. May Allah bless Indonesia. Thank you ever so much!

MC(m): Thank you, Supreme Master Ching Hai, for your insightful words. And we would like to thank you for all the humanitarian work that you have done for Indonesia, for so many people in so many places.

Interviewee (m): Yes, we must do something. My message to the world is to be consistent in being a vegan because in reality being vegan is a quick way to save the world from the global warming crisis. Save the animals which have suffered all this time and then bring them back to the forest again to help them play their roles for all of us. Be veg! Go green! Save the planet!

Ghea Artist Spoken in Indonesian Ms. Ghea (f): As one of the younger generation, I feel this is the time that we have to act and do something. And after I saw today's presentation, it is enough to open my mind regarding "What should we do?" And it turns out there are a lot of things we must do. And it's so amazing! I am happy a lot of my friends still care about global warming. I am still learning as to how I can change my diet so it will be a better diet, not only for the world, but for myself too. Hopefully I can do it as soon as possible. Be veg! Go green! Save the planet!

MC(m): Okay Now, our first question is coming from Mr. Budiharto, a wildlife activist at Cikananga Sanctuary. He is also a Shining World Compassion Award recipient for his compassionate work with animals.

Budiharto (m): Honored Master, most of my daily meals are vegetables, although in fact I have not yet become a pure vegetarian. I do not eat meat because I am an activist in the wildlife rescue center and so automatically I am an animal lover. After reading books and magazines given by you through your Association members in Indonesia, and also after I received one of your awards, The Shining World Compassion Award, I understand more why people must be vegetarian to save the world.

Respected Master, my question is: Please share ideas with us here on how to make the vegan lifestyle become more and more popular in our society and to become a new positive trend for all levels of society. Or, in other words, how can the vegan lifestyle become more widely accepted in Indonesian society? Because I feel that the vegan lifestyle is still only being adopted by certain communities. Thank you.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: Thank you! Thank you, Mr. Budiharto. “Budi” included - “Budiharto” - your name means you have Buddha in you. “Budi” is a Buddha. You look like a Buddha also! First of all, thank you for your caring work on behalf of the wild animals.

God bless you for that. I'm glad to be able to tell you that with all the available foods and recipes nowadays, it's very easy to be vegan. You can do it; I am sure of that, now that you know why. Like most of the people of the world, you are not informed about the reason and the cruelty behind that harmless looking piece of meat that we consume. It's just another step in expressing your love for the animals, to be veg, which I can see is already very great.

Your question is how to make the vegan lifestyle become more and more popular, as a positive trend for everybody in the society. Yes, that is surely the ideal, the goal, Mr. Budiharto. This is what we are working to do, through Supreme Master Television and the efforts of our Association members, airing programs and news about global warming and the vegan solution to benefit the people and the planet, as well as the distribution of information to reach the media and government representatives.

If the governments recommend the vegan diet to halt global warming, you can imagine the level of response! But we can't afford to wait for the government or anyone else to create the trend. So, we start it now, first, by becoming vegan ourselves, individually, and then letting everyone else know how easy and beneficial it is. Do you know of some of the vegan advantages, Mr. Budiharto? Okay, I'll tell you. There are really so many, I hardly know where to start. But I will list here just a few, for you and the audience.

First, fitness: A study in India conducted using a cardiovascular fitness test on both vegetarian and non-vegetarian teens, teenagers, found that the vegetarians had greater endurance and fitness than the non-vegetarians.

Second, performance: Vegan US ironman triathlete, Brendan Brazier - very famous - made a mix from the veg ingredients of hemp, dried pea and lentil powders, that's all... with all the necessary amino acids to make a complete protein. Brian says these simple ingredients provide energy that has sustained him through many medal-winnings, with quick muscle recovery between the events.

Third, strength: A Belgian study measuring athletic ability found that vegetarians could complete a weight-lifting exercise 69 times, while the meat eaters averaged only 38 times. Almost half. In Denmark, scientists compared the exercise stamina of three different diets, discovering that those who ate meat, milk and eggs, fish were only able to last 57 minutes. Those who consume meat and vegetables were able to continue for 114 minutes. That's better already, yes? But, the vegan diet, a person who consumes only vegan diet, consisting of grains, vegetables and fruits, increased stamina to 167 minutes!

Number four, endurance: A test at Yale University in the USA compared the endurance of meat-eating athletes and vegetarians who normally did not even do any exercise at all, a normal person. Each person was given tests such as seeing how long they could hold out their arms like this. Only 13% of the meat eaters, 13% - one three - could hold their arms out for more than 15 minutes, and none of them reached 30 minutes - none! By contrast, over 68% of the vegetarians exceeded 15 minutes. Nearly 50% went over 30 minutes, and 28% went over 60 minutes, and 1 person, one vegetarian person, was able to last for more than three hours, compared to 15 minutes even. Yes, not even 15 minutes. The meat-eater could not even last 15 minutes.

Fifth, intelligence: Scientists in the US measuring intelligence in children found that the IQ of vegetarian youths are significantly above average. And another study similarly of over 8,000 children conducted in the United Kingdom, England, discovered also that those with higher IQs at the age of 10 were more likely to be vegetarian as an adult, like, around 30 years of age. So, we also know of many prominent vegetarian and vegan historical figures known for their mental brilliance. The great mathematician and philosopher, Pythagoras, was vegetarian, as well as Albert Einstein.

We all know who they are, right? Yes. There are other simple joys to the vegan lifestyle, such as not having to worry about elevated cholesterol and, in many cases, we can even forget about heart disease and cancer. So, once we are successful in being vegan ourselves, with organic vegan being even better by the way, we can start inviting others to join us. Ask your friends and colleagues over for dinner and lunch, and introduce them to vegan dishes along the way. They can see for themselves how tasty and healthy it is. We can also pass out flyers that show the health and environmental advantages of being vegan, complete with all the famous, smart, beautiful and strong examples of vegans, like movie stars, athletes, fitness training gurus, etc., etc.

Meanwhile, you also can write to the government, schools and other important organizations to let them know the urgency of our climate, and the importance of being veg, with any materials you need freely available from www.SupremeMasterTV.com. Or, please ask our Association members to help you. Besides the positive motivation for being vegan, you are helping address a very real need in our world at this time, Mr. Budiharto. This is because our entire Earth is continuing to heat up from global warming, which scientists say is primarily caused by greenhouse gases emitted by the animal farms for the livestock industry.

This activity of killing animals for meat has grown to vast proportions in many parts of the world, outside of our eyes, causing immense suffering for countless animals, causing sickness to us humans, especially the children and the elderly, along with land and water pollution, massive deforestation, loss of habitat for wildlife, which you try to protect, and human diseases that include bird and swine flu, mad cow disease, etc., etc.

“Meat production” also means fishing. After billions of these underwater animals have been snatched from their homes and killed en masse, our oceans are now gravely imbalanced. The cumulative impact of all these destructive activities is really beyond measure, and experts such as the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change are continually revising their forecasts as they realize the Earth's decline from global warming is occurring much, much faster than anyone previously thought or predicted.

Stopping meat and dairy consumption and fishing, poultry - all the animal products - is the fastest and most effective way to cool our planet and halt these dangerous changes. And now that we also understand the immeasurable benefits for the organic vegan diet, we can simply step forward and implement this solution, which offers not only better personal health, but literally can save the entire planet, the entire world. This is how we continue to make the vegan lifestyle more popular. So, please join us, Mr. Budiharto, and become part of the trend to save our world. You can always ask for our assistance from different centers.

MC(m): Thank you, Master, for your wise answer.

MC(f): Our next question, Master, comes from Ms. Hira Jamtani. She is a policy analyst and a writer on sustainable development and environmental issues. She is also a consultant for the Special Assistant to the Indonesian Minister of Environment.

HJ(f): Thank you.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: Welcome, Ms. Hira Jamtani.

HJ(f): Dear Supreme Master Ching Hai, what is the farmer's role, especially small farmers in poor countries, in this entire spiritual and ecological movement concerning the vegan society? Can we help them so that their life will be more prosperous through this movement? Thank you.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: Thank you, Madam, for your time and your concern. Good day to you.

Yes, the small farmers have an important role to play. You're right to be concerned and want to help them, especially during this urgent time and in the future. They have a role in the veg trend to feed the world with nutritious and sustainable plant-based food. And wherever possible, all farmers should become organic vegan farmers to help restore the planet to a healthy balance, while improving people's health and helping to stop the suffering of both humans and animals. I pray this will be the multifold, noble role of all the farmers of the world. The climate scientists are advising us that we must cut our meat consumption if we want to save the planet.

Because the animal farms are too inefficient, too costly, depleting natural resources, polluting the environment, creating huge medical costs, water shortage, world hunger, and conflicts. In contrast to animal raising, growing organic vegetables, fruits and legumes yields more and better nutrition, is harmonious for humans, animals, and the environment, and is more profitable. Organically farmed soil is also healthy and even absorbs a lot of the greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.

In fact, if tillable land was globally used for organic farming, it would absorb 40% of all greenhouse gases at least. Can you imagine? Forty percent would be absorbed by the organic farming method, then we have another 50% that would be cut off by abolishing the animal industry. Then our planet will be healthy. Very simple, logical, scientific and quick. Contrary to some beliefs, organic farming is quite profitable, and especially for small farmers.

We have examples everywhere and we have shown some of these examples on Supreme Master Television, where the farmers, just sprinkle the seeds on the land, that's it. No water needed, no fertilizer needed, not much work to do even. They just sit there and wait for the rain to come, or even not rain much, then they will harvest, and harvest in abundance.

Now, we have also multiple studies in the United States, India, and New Zealand. They all have confirmed this, that some of the reasons for the greater profits are that the production costs are lower than conventional farming. There are more crop varieties that could be rotated, such as corn, soybean and alfalfa. Also, the organic system is naturally more resistant to drought than conventional farm systems.

In the United States, crop yields were at least the same and even up to three times higher than normal after the switch to organic, vegetable farming. Can you imagine? We harvest three times more, on the same piece of land if we do organic farming. At the same time, the environment is more protected, the produce is healthier and tastier. The good news is more and more people are realizing the many benefits of organic, vegan products, making it a trend in many countries and many cities, including Indonesia.

Besides, we are facing a food shortage with high food prices. Small farmers can help us develop our economies in a better direction that is no longer dominated and hampered by the meat industry. The United Nations announced that as of 2009 the world is now seeing the highest number of hungry people in four decades.

To be exact, there are 1.02 billion people with not enough food in the world. Hungry. 1.02 billion people are hungry in the world right now. That is one in every six persons, including children, the elderly… women. While we are sitting here in safety and comfort, and have sufficient food for ourselves and our family, our neighboring people, our world co-citizens, more than one billion of them, are living in poverty, in hunger, in thirst. No sufficient water, no clean water, no food to eat. Children are dying every few seconds. Statistically, every five seconds one child dies of hunger.

I'm sorry to inform you of all this bad news, but I guess some of you already know and the truth has to be told. Organic vegan farming is also part of the solution to solve hunger. Small farmers have a spiritual role in veganism as well. The vegan diet itself is a spiritual movement because it is the single most effective way to expand our human compassion, and noble quality, and loving quality. It can reverse the cycle of violence and bad karmic retribution, “As we sow, so shall we reap.” And it places us within a circle of love, protection, and mercy from any negative happenings in the physical realm.

So, the vegan organic farmer supports countless others to have this great merit by providing them with food that has minimal, or is free of violence, and through that he surely gains many spiritual merits himself. In many cases, organic farming is not different at all from conventional methods. Not much. So, besides some labor, the technologies to become organic vegan don't require a lot of investment.

But in case the farmers need help, the government can provide, because the government subsidizes the meat farmers anyway. So, instead of subsidizing the meat industry, we subsidize the organic farming industry. So the government can give them vegetable seeds and training on better ways to farm without using chemical fertilizers, because sometimes the farmers are just not well informed about the harms of livestock raising, or the chemicals or the fertilizers or insecticides. They are not informed about a better way to grow vegetables and make more profit.

The government can help them implement the measures to conserve the land and improve the quality of their products so that their buyers will trust in them, etc. The government can also set up a certification and quality standardization system to further promote the organic vegan industry.

Now, regarding your question on how we can help the small farmers, we can ask the government to support them in becoming organic vegan, by letting them know that this is what the citizens want, and this will save the world. We can encourage our supermarkets, our schools, our companies, etc., as well as consider this healthier, more practical way of nourishing people.

Ultimately, as consumers, we, the ordinary citizens, have a lot of power in our hands, and it's up to us to create the demand for the right foods and boycott the wrong ones - the harmful foods, the dangerous foods to us and to our children, the foods that are leading our planetary home to destruction. Instead, we should choose to buy organic vegetable and fruit products to save our lives and those of our families, save the animals and the planet.

Even if organic vegan is not yet possible or available to you, the most important first step is to stop buying and eating meat, fish, eggs, dairy, and any animal products for you and for your family's sake, for the natural resources' sake, and to plant the seeds for a better agricultural system for everyone. In this way, not only can all the farmers prosper - we help them in this way - but everyone will prosper and enjoy a long and thriving life. Thank you, Ms. Jamtani, for your very considerate question.

MC(f): Thank you, Master, very much for your answer.

Tekla Catholic nun and teacher; I think today's seminar is very good, especially the teleconference. It's so good that we can see with our own eyes the effects of meat eating. I have come here with five teachers, and I said, “When we go home, we will practice this once or twice a week without meat.” Maybe we'll tell the children to eat no meat once or twice a week. So we must tell our caterer.

If we follow the advice of Supreme Master Ching Hai maybe the world will be safer because there will be no calamities. I Made Sukadana Businessman Vegan I am very satisfied, very happy, with indescribable joy - amazing! I am very satisfied with what is being conveyed by Supreme Master Ching Hai.

Supreme Master TV (f): According to you as a businessman, what action should all businessmen do in order to deal with global warming?

Interviewee (m): In order to deal with global warming, I will spend my time, as best as I can, to go green. I will tell all my friends, in order to save energy and save everything, to be vegetarian or vegan. I've been trying the organic vegan diet for just three months, yes, but as for the vegan diet, I've already been doing it for around five years. The progress is amazing! So I am very healthy. In the physical aspect, I feel great. Spiritually, I've also advanced quite well.

Let's be veg! Go green! Save the planet!

MC(m): And now, we have a question from Mr. Haji Chaerudin, well known by his nickname Bang Idin. He is a farmer and founder of Sangga Buana Environmental Farmers Group.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: Welcome，sir.

BI(m): Thank you. Respected and beloved Supreme Master Ching Hai, my name is Bang Idin. I am from the farmers group, Sangga Buana Environmental Farmers Group. Our philosophy “sangga” means poles, “buana” means “universal life.” Every day I work in the river. I clean the river, convert the waste to organic fertilizer for our plants for almost 15 years in the conservation forest region of Pesanggrahan River. That is my work. And my friends and I, 15 year ago, decided to use organic fertilizer for 60,000 plants in the herbs area, the endangered plants area, and the birds area.

Respected Supreme Master Ching Hai, the philosophy in our farmers group's struggle is that nature is not inherited but is our legacy for our great grandchildren. But，even though I am not a vegan farmer, I already do something as part of the vegan movement. We don't eat the fish in the river but we maintain them by working together within our groups. But, how is the solution to be understood when my group consists of poorly educated people such as myself, people with limited insight? Because my parents told me: clever men don't always understand; the one who understands is not always clever. What is the best solution so that my farmers can be part of the high economic society, while still having a philosophy that loves nature? Thank you.

Mr. Bang Idin, as you are fondly called, bravo for your hard work in restoring the balance of your country's natural resources. And also for your time with young people， helping them to be good stewards of the Earth. I appreciate your diligent efforts. God bless you, Allah bless you. I, too, have been saddened at times to see how the environment is treated, especially our animal co-inhabitants. It is better if we remember that land is not like a possession, or something that we just do anything we please with. The land is part of the great being we call Mother Earth which, in a higher sense, belongs to God.

In fact, many religious beliefs describe the role of the humans as the stewards or caretakers of the planet. For example, in the Native American tradition there is a saying, “We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.” Just like you have said that. The Christian Bible also mentions that, "The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to till and keep it." To till and keep it, means to farm and keep it, like what you're doing.

When God put the man in Eden to till and keep the Garden of Eden, I don't think God told him to put chemical fertilizers into the land that God has made because God has made it perfect already. It's we who have been destroying the natural resources and underestimate the blessing of Allah who has made everything perfect already for our use. We have no need for any artificial chemicals to feed our crops. I don't hear any mention of chemical fertilizer in the Bible or in the Qur'an or in any other religious scriptures, regardless of what religions we belong to. And the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, has taught us like this. He said, “The world is green and beautiful，and Allah has appointed you his guardian over it.”

So we should tend to the environment carefully the way our Prophet has taught us, as I know you have been doing. The way you have been doing，sir，is great，is according to Allah's will. Because of the critical state of the planet， if we don't act quickly there may be nothing left at all for us to even want to protect. At that time it might be too late. We cannot continue the trend like this forever, and stop whenever we want to save the planet. I'm sorry to say we have a limited time.

According to all the scientific evidence and all the physical evidence up to date，we don't have much time. Even later on，if we want to save the planet， it won't be successful. So we must do it now while we still have a chance. The threats imposed by global warming are more than imminent; they are already here， as you can see through many disasters， upheavals，climate refugees，phenomena around the world. Now，according to expert scientists，the atmospheric temperatures are rising so steeply that we do not have much time left to change.

We do not have much time left to change. And that is just what they have predicted up to date. But they always predicted and telling us that every time they updated something， it was always getting worse and always faster than they had predicted or they had expected， so we cannot sit here and wait. Even with not much time left to change，we cannot even rely on that. There may be even less time than “not much.” The effects of climate change can be seen in so many ways， with increased flooding， droughts，fires and even earthquakes everywhere in the world.

One of the most tragic disasters of our time was the tsunami that struck your country in 2004，that brought so much sorrow for the Indonesian people and the people of the world. We still feel very sad remembering this， it's like just yesterday. Because the people who are affected， they do not forget yet what happened to their children，their loved ones，their houses， their ancestral heritage.

Many things have gone away with the tsunami. It's not just material， it's not just the loss of life. It's the heartbreaks that affect people in the aftermath. It's the living who have to live with the tragedy， with the memories of their loved ones， and everything that's gone with it. I'm so sorry， it should not have happened because Indonesian people are God-fearing people，very good people，hospitable， lovely people. I have been to your country many times and had the chance to experience the love of your countrymen.

This should not have happened. It's just the collective bad karma (retribution) of the whole world. And it has to happen somewhere - somewhere that is more vulnerable than the rest， and most often it's the poor people who are in a vulnerable situation， who suffer the most. I'm so sorry. I'm sure you feel the same and your people still feel the pain of this tsunami even after all this time. The inside wound of the heart doesn't heal too fast. Maybe we can build them houses and give them money， give them food，but we cannot truly heal the pain in the people's heart. Can we? No. Not really，right? We can only pray to Allah to give them strength to continue.

Since then，more than 60 Indonesian islands have become submerged. Sixty islands from your country's islands have become submerged. Gone，disappeared. Underwater. Since 2004， since the tsunami， 60 islands have already gone， disappeared forever. And your government is forecasting that 2,000 more islands may sink below the sea over the next decade also, due to global warming. It could be faster.

Prediction doesn't always correspond to the natural phenomena or the things that happen due to retribution，due to our careless actions. So，the rising sea level's going to submerge， maybe faster than a decade，another 2,000 of your beautiful， beautiful，irreplaceable jewel islands. Most recently， your country endured another earthquake. This is also another pain and heartache for the people of Indonesia and the world. But this one，thankfully， not as devastating; but still with the sorrowful loss of many lives. It was painful for me to hear of the human loss and the suffering， so I did what I could.

Of course， like everybody else， I sent some humble contribution and sent some of our Association members，blessed be their good heart， to try to offer comfort to those most in need. However humble the aid， it contains my shared sorrow and prayers for your people in time of need. I wish of course I could do much more， much，much more. So sorry.

There have also been several quakes since. And scientists have discovered that earthquakes are linked to global warming. Because，as the ice melts at the poles - North and South poles - beneath Greenland, pressure shifts on the Earth's plates that could trigger movement to cause earthquakes. How do we stop these alarming changes， Mr. Chaerudin?

We have to halt the meat consumption and the livestock raising，where animals live so briefly and then are brutally murdered en masse，just for a few seconds of pleasure of the consumers. The greenhouse gases released from the animals， from their waste， agricultural runoff，and the activities related to these massive operations have been identified as the primary， the number one，cause of global warming.

Such facilities，which are known to be utterly inhumane， horribly filthy and extremely overcrowded， have been built in Mexico， in the United States，and in Europe，with one also - maybe more even in your country - on the island of Bulan that contains 250,000 pigs. That's on the island of Bulan in your country. As the harmful emissions of these and other animal raising operation cause atmospheric temperatures to get hotter around the world， especially at the Arctic， the destructive effects are too many to count.

They include disturbances to birds' migration patterns; homelessness of Arctic animals，such as seals and penguins and polar bears，because the ice is nearly gone; ruined wildlife habitat from Amazonian deforestation for cattle pasture and feed; the release of even more carbon dioxide and heat-trapping methane from thawing regions of permafrost; global sea level rise that is forcing people from their homes.

It's not just the earthquakes， it's not just the tsunami， it's not just the typhoon， it's not just the cyclone， it's the rising sea levels as well that force people to lose their home， their ancestral home， to go begging elsewhere; losing also their dignity，the power to take care of their own family; losing their grace; losing their status as the caretaker of the family; losing everything，not just physical possessions, but losing their loved ones as well. And such extreme weather patterns that include extensive flooding along with prolonged droughts. It's easy to see the many forms of environmental harm that are linked to this killing industry， which we call meat consumerism: the mass murder of billions，billions of innocent animals' lives.

Even wild animals， such as the beautiful Indonesian monkeys and the highly endangered Sumatran orangutans，are known also to be hunted and sold for meat.
Mr. Chaerudin， in the Qur'an， Allah forbids killing. Allah tells us to be merciful to all creatures. Prophet Muhammad， peace be upon him， told us to be merciful to all creatures. Allah told even his cousin not to eat meat. Please read the Qur'an again and tell me if I'm right. In our society， ladies and gentlemen， all the powerful people in the world，in our society，the law only punishes someone who has done something wrong to the society.

The animals，they have never done us any wrong. They live their life quietly，they're eating whatever God provides them，they don't harm us in any way. Even if in some cases they do，because we destroy their habitats， because they have nowhere to live， they have no more food in nature for them to eat，so they have to come to us， trusting that we would share with them some food，because we took away their habitat. In our society if we took away something from someone， we pay back something. So the animals trusted that we would pay them back with some food. But，in any case， we always kill them， if they come too near.

Now，I don't know if there is any law that says that human beings have the right to disturb the wild habitats of the animals. Is there any law from God， from Allah，or from our physical law stating that we have the right to destroy the habitat of the wild，and then kill them if they come near， or don't even come near， like the wild monkeys of Indonesia and the orangutans，and many other wild animals that some noble organizations try desperately to help to preserve? But they don't have enough power sometimes，because the ones who have power do not care.

Please forgive me if I offend anyone; the truth is always the truth. Say it or not say it. Mr. Chaerudin，I hope you and the audience can agree that the legacy to our children should include our promise， our vow，our law， to refrain from killing animals or making them suffer in any way. If we want to call ourselves a civilized human race， we must protect the animals' lives，which are linked to ours. We have to protect them because they are us - because if we don't protect them， we are vulnerable because Heaven will not forgive us， if we treat other co-inhabitants unkindly.

Also because now we are at the point where we must change while there is still time， otherwise we will face disastrous consequences and we might lose the whole world， our lives altogether. If we want to receive the mercy of Heaven for our life here on Earth， we must first be merciful in granting the same dignity and freedom of life to the animals. I hope you agree.

Only then can we have a return of the environmental balance that I know you also seek to protect， Mr. Chaerudin. That's why you are doing what you do. If everyone does this， our world will be transformed. So please，everyone， plant veg， be veg and we can go green later when we've already saved the planet. Save our planet，please. I wish you the best，sir. God bless you.

MC(m): Thank you，Master.

MC(m): The next question is from Ms. Harini Bambang Wahono， a member of the Society of Activist Care for the Environment， and the recipient of the National Champion in Nature Conservation and Planting Award，as well as the Kalpataru Award.

Harini (f): Thank you for this opportunity.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: Hallo，Madam. How are you?

HBW(m): Good. Respected Supreme Master Ching Hai， I was raised the child of farmers. I have a close relationship and friendship with animals and nature around me. I like nature very much. I also love the green environment at my father's farm，and right now I am feeling and knowing that life on Earth is in great danger because of climate change. I already try to do as much as I can to spread the information to the society in my neighborhood so that the people will take good care of the environment and make the neighborhood a more comfortable place to live， and to live in harmony with animals. My question is: What should be our roles and also all the roles of the citizens of this country to save our world from destruction? That's my question. Thank you very much.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: Yes，thank you for your very loving， concerned question， and the willingness to save the planet. Thank you also for your love towards all beings on this planet. Thank you for your love for nature and the animals which，of course， you inherited from your childhood life，being a farmer's daughter. And congratulations on the awards that you received which you so much deserve，such as the National Champion in Nature Conservation and Planting Award.

It is reported that the Prophet Muhammad， peace be upon him， has said，“Whoever plants a tree and diligently looks after it until it matures and bears fruit will be rewarded.” Correct me if I am wrong. I understand your sorrow about the plight of the lives on our Earth. I feel the same，Madam. Already we have lost countless，precious human lives and animals and life-supporting plants due to climate change.

Every year，at least 150,000 people die due to climate change， including in Indonesia. Also every year， 325 million people are seriously affected by climate change， also including Indonesia of course. That is more than the whole population of your country who are suffering each year due to climate change. Imagine if the whole population of your country suffers due to climate change and in the whole world， 325 million people. That's more than your whole country's population suffering due to climate change.

Scientists calculated the annual number of flood events has tripled since the 1980s， and tropical storms and similar events have nearly doubled，Madam. Furthermore， the United Nations Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs， John Holmes，stated that 99% of the people who lose their lives due to natural disasters are in Asia， including Indonesia. And how many more are we bound to lose if we don't change in time? What are we waiting for? Fortunately，we still have hope，Madam. If we still really want to stop all this loss and suffering，we must all become vegans to save the world.

Very simple solution. A little change in the diet， that's all. One piece of meat，put one piece of tofu instead. There are varieties of vegetarian diets, not just tofu. I'm just saying that， because nowadays they make vegan beefsteak or vegan hamburger look exactly like the meat product. It tastes even better， healthier，and is more sustainable. So，it's just a little change in our diet. That's all. One piece of meat eliminate，and one piece of meatless protein. It's the same， just better，healthier. Because animal consumption is killing our world. The war is nothing compared to it. The terrorism - what we call “terrorism” - is nothing compared to it. Anything is nothing compared to the meat industry. It is really killing our people and our planet.

One example is fishing. The US-based Pew Commission found that overfishing is the greatest threat to marine ecosystems， followed by agricultural runoff，including livestock manure - means waste - and fertilizers used on animal feed crops. In your country， Indonesia，where overfishing is common in the precious coral reef areas，one report has put it this way， I quote exactly from that report: “Overfishing is causing more damage to the coral reefs than earthquakes or tsunamis.” Can you imagine this， Madam? And we thought earthquakes and tsunamis were already devastating Enough,were already causing too much heartache and sorrow.

But overfishing，even just in Indonesia alone，is causing more damage than earthquakes and tsunamis. My God. Overfishing has caused the remaining fish to be smaller，so the mesh size of the nets has been decreased to capture smaller fish， resulting in other fish being caught as well. The other fish that the fisher don't need， are also being caught there. So，it destroys even more marine ecosystems and destroys more fish life. These are either ground up as animal feed， used as fertilizer， or thrown back into the ocean as dead fish.

I have seen one documentary film from Greenpeace Brazil. Actually，we aired it yesterday on Supreme Master Television. You can see that the dead fish are covering the whole entire surface of water. You don't see water. You only see dead fish floating on top. It's a horrible sight to witness. Now，for example，for every one ton of prawns caught，three tons of other fish are also killed and thrown away. For one ton of prawns， three other tons of other so-called useless fish to the fishermen， commercially useless， are being thrown away.

Can you imagine how much damage we've done to the sea? The Indonesian government also acknowledged the devastated oceans due to fishing，and also said that 94% of Indonesia's coral reefs are dying - just in your country alone. It's very devastating to the environment. The coral reefs are there to protect us. If they are dying， we'll be dying. It's just we don't see the effect immediately so we think it doesn't concern us. It does concern us.

In addition，every year， Indonesia imports 70,000 tons of beef from Australia and New Zealand. It takes 15,000 tons of water to produce 1 ton of beef. So in total，the imported beef production alone， which doesn't even reflect the full amount of beef consumed in Indonesia， causes the waste of almost 1.2 billion tons of water each year. That's why we are short of water in the world.

Sadly，Madam， while this waste is going on right now， 1.1 billion people have no access to clean safe water- 1.1 billion. And 1.8 million children die every year due to sickness from contaminated water. So you can see the animal diet， the animals industry is killing our people， killing our water， killing our planet， killing marine life， killing our sea， killing coral reefs，killing all that is important and protective to us- just for the sake of immediate profit, we're killing our world and we are killing ourselves. If we truly wish to see real harmony born between humans and animals and nature and Heaven， we must be the harmony， we must live in harmony， and act also in harmony， which includes the act of eating harmoniously each time we come to the table.

Peace，compassion， mercy begin on our plate. We cannot truly call ourselves harmonious if every meal is the result of filling our hands with the blood of the innocent and harming the environment and killing our planet on which we live. We must protect the environment and the animals because we have to protect ourselves. They are linked to our safety，comfort and longevity and the life of the planet. If we want to have a home for our children， we must protect the animals. How can we call a dinner of fish harmonious，when slow and painful deaths by mass suffocation had to take place to bring the fish there onto our plate? All the scriptures told us that we receive what we grant，or we reap what we sow. The Prophet Muhammad， peace be upon him，said， “Allah will not give mercy to anyone，except to those who give mercy to other creatures.”

That's stated in the Qur'an. We need your help， Madam Wahono. We need everybody's help as well. It's not just our animals and trees， but human lives that need help saving. And by being vegan， we are not just ensuring everyone's survival，but this is also our chance to have a new，harmonious， noble，peaceful relationship with other species on our planet. We have to live，befitting the children of Allah.

Can you imagine? Suppose Allah would come to our planet， what would Hes do? Imagine Allah comes here and kills every living creature to eat， just to keep Hiers body alive for a hundred years， more or less. Would Allah ever do that? Would Hes，Madam? (No，Master.) No. We cannot imagine God，or almighty Allah， would come here and kill every little，innocent， helpless，defenseless loving creature to eat. So we are the children of God.

All the prophets tell us that. Jesus Christ told us that. Buddha told us that. Prophet Muhammad， peace be upon him， told us that. We are the children of a merciful Father. We have to be like our Father. This is very logical. That would please the Father - that we are like Him， that we are merciful, that we have compassion， that we are in harmony with each other.

All the fathers would love their children to be like that. So，in order to be worthy of Allah's children， of God's children， we must live the way our Father would like us to live. This is the stepping stone that would even stop war among humans and bring Heaven to Earth，in no time.

If we stop the killing， Heaven will be here. God would be among us， and we can feel Hirm. We may be able to even see Hirm， not just in vision of meditative prayer，but maybe just like normal. In addition，we should do good deeds to further strengthen the loving， positive atmosphere of our planet. You see，just like when we walk into a room， some people are quarreling with each other or even fighting with each other， we feel very frightened and uncomfortable. Yes? That is the atmosphere of the fighting， argument，discord，that makes us feel we want to step away， we want to run，because we are scared; we feel very uncomfortable. But if we walk into a room where people are sitting together， having a happy party or a wedding，we'll feel so happy，blissful， because the atmosphere is happy. So that is what I mean by “atmosphere.”

We have to create a happy，loving atmosphere for our planet， then we can live in that atmosphere，be protected and be happy. This is very scientific. We don't need even to believe in any religions to understand this: we create our atmosphere. Just like at home， if you're in harmony with your wife，your husband， your children，you'll feel so nice and happy. But when you are not happy with each other- you're fighting or arguing- the atmosphere is really very uncomfortable， sometimes suffocating. That is the atmosphere that I'm talking about. So，we create the atmosphere we live in. If everyone creates the harmonious atmosphere， our planet will be in peace，and we will be like in paradise. We have to create the loving atmosphere for our planet.

This will also help protect us. And also，we should pray to Heavens， to the great mercy of Allah， and the angels， to all divine beings，to help awaken humankind- awaken us， so that we understand right from wrong. We understand that we must walk the way of God's children. With your admirable， strong，proactive spirit， we have more hope， Madam Wahono. So，please help us， help us， help your loved ones and those around you， to all be veg， and do good deeds. Please remind them. Thank you so much. May God bless you.

MC(f): Thank you，Master，for those words of wisdom.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: Thank you!

Francine Roosenda (f): I'm very inspired by what Master Ching Hai said: her way to motivate people to be vegan by helping the planet and then reducing the greenhouse emission gas and all the bad methane effects on our planet, simply by turning ourselves to be vegan. It's really，really inspiring and really motivating to be a vegan!
If that very noble intention can help do something to save this planet， then why not? And I'm going to willingly do that and help that.

Hallo， Supreme Master Ching Hai. I'm very honored to listen to your seminar, and I wish I have a chance to one day really actually meet you face to face because there are a lot of things I want to ask and discuss with you. Thank you so much. The Supreme Master brought us the enlightenment, the science of intelligence and intellectualism. She gives us an explanation, a practical way to live in tune with nature.

Be veg! Go green! And save the planet!

Let there be peace.

I think it's a great seminar. It's an important initiative， especially talking about organic farming. My name is Tessa. I work for Greenpeace's climate and energy campaign and I'd like to say to everyone: Be veg! Go green! And save the planet!

MC(m): The next question is from Mr. Teguh Wibowo who is a Red Cross volunteer.

Mr. Santino (m): Thank you, Madam.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: Welcome! Welcome.

Mr. Santino (m): Dear Supreme Master Ching Hai, we have been together with your Association members doing some humanitarian missions at disaster areas recently. We were very touched and admire the sincerity and enthusiasm of your disciples in helping those people, the victims of natural disasters. They are always enthusiastic even though they eat only simple vegan food. Our question is: if we shift to a vegan or vegan organic diet, will our good humanity side be developed more? Thank you.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: Yes, hallo.
Thank you for doing the good deeds with the Red Cross, helping your countrymen. God bless you. Allah bless you.
Thank you for your kind words also about our Association members. They are trying to be the best humans that we want to be. And I am glad that you are happy with the stamina and vitality of their vegan nutrition. I also appreciate very much your efforts and those of the Red Cross in offering comfort and aid to those in the most needed hour in Indonesia, and of course for the Red Cross around the world. In answer to your question about whether the organic vegan diet will help develop our good humanity side - yes, of course it will.

Meat poisons the body, first of all, and that leads to inevitable disease and heartaches for both the individual and their loved ones. And also, because it makes us sick by poisoning our body, our mind will also be clouded. So we cannot always think straight, we cannot always follow our instinct to be the best human that we want to be. So, even from a purely physical perspective, foregoing animal products is a choice of goodness. Consciously turning to veganism for reasons of compassion means that the good humanity side is developed even more.

And it's so easy. It's just expanding a little more of what you are already doing. In your work for the Red Cross as a volunteer, you offer your free time, your physical aid, to care for the people in times of disaster. You give them food and basic necessities with, perhaps, a kind word, a comforting gesture, and you see that they feel heartened and uplifted with hope to have the strength to continue in such a dire situation.

If you were not there, if the Red Cross were not there, maybe they'd have lost their spirit of fighting, maybe they would die also, of sorrow and hopelessness. So you are saving lives by being there. Well, you just do a little bit more, saving animals' lives, and you'll be perfect. Well, the choice of the vegan diet is like doing the same thing with the animals, you see. Same thing with humans: you save human lives, give them love, give them help to continue to live.

So now, we're doing the same with animals. Just leave them be, let them live. Only in this case the so-called disaster site is what we can call the massacre site, or mass-murder site, where the animals are brutally killed en masse, usually in windowless places where we cannot see so we don't know what's going on, we don't know how horrible the place is inside. We don't know how they're treated. They're screaming, they're dragged alive, they are stabbed, they're hung upside down - every possible cruelty is inflicted upon them.

If we don't eat animals' meat, these things will not happen, so we save their lives indirectly. Some animals are shocked electrically to supposedly stun them to no feeling, but this often fails, so they are still conscious while being suspended upside down from a hook, and their throats mercilessly slit - bleeding to death. Some are dragged screaming to their death, while others have been filmed having their heads crushed by the boots of a human. Imagine. We are civilized people.

Even if we do not directly partake in this killing, we are still responsible if we eat the meat or dairy products or even fish for that matter. Even eggs are being bred very cruelly, very cruelly. Milk, eggs, they're all very cruelly bred. We cannot imagine what cruelty we humans inflict upon the innocent harmless animals. Even just a little chick like this, so puffy, so cute, so sweet. I have talked about that in other lectures, in other answers, so I would not want to elaborate further here to make pain in your heart. But we have all this information on Supreme Master Television and www.SupremeMasterTV.com, if you care to look at how humans treat innocent, harmless and helpless animals.

Okay, even fish, since they are produced with the similar cruel practices as meat; we should not consume fish. If we engage on any level in the unspeakably inhumane practices of the animal industry, we also carry the burden of the animals' murder - I'm sorry to say - indirectly. We carry the murders, the effect.

Scientists find more and more that animals are just like us in feeling pain and even knowing when they are being taken to their massacre. To know for ourselves that this is true, we only need to see pictures showing the anguish of the animal as he or she is led to the final stop in his or her tragically short and horrible life. To deepen our compassion - for these and other horrors endured by our endlessly forgiving, loving animal friends - anyone can watch videos available from www.SupremeMasterTV.com/Stop-Animal-Cruelty.

It's all free of charge, free of obligation, free of any strings attached. Or you can watch them from organizations such as PETA and the like, animal protection groups. The animals are not only like us in having intelligence, emotions and intuition, they are our friends and helpers. So many blessings from Heaven come through their very existence! Truly it's like that. Through meditation, through inner knowledge, I understood this, and I'm telling you the truth. We do not kill our benefactors or our friends.

Making a vegan choice is thus a true advancement in the evolution and goodness of our humanity. And then we also know that like attracts like, goodness attracts more goodness. As we share this compassionate truth with others, not only will our own humanity be further uplifted, so will the world's. Thank you very much for your sincere and caring question. May Allah bless you in your work and your life. And bless the Red Cross of Indonesia.

MC(f): The next question comes from Mr. Hardianto. He is an Indonesian travel agent, as well as a vegan.

Q(m): Thank you.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: Happy, happy!

Mr. Hardianto (m): Dear Supreme Master Ching Hai, climate change brings new questions to the modern society. From economic development, increasing standards of living to luxurious ways of living, even for daily activities, compared to the earlier ages. All these are now challenged once again by the catastrophic climate change that is believed to be caused by human activity. One phenomenon that is also very contributive to GHG emission to the atmosphere is the rapid increase in global population, also as one of the consequences of increased living standards. The question is: How should we human beings develop? Is there or will there be a limit for this development? How should the society be built? Thank you, Master.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: Thank you, sir, thank you. It is true that we must be careful of our way of life, and try to be more frugal and protective of our precious resources. We should not lose ourselves in the material aspects of life without paying attention to our moral standards and spiritual development as well. This is important also, even more important than material development. Or else, we will be in trouble sooner or later. We might even lose everything, including our material development, our lives and our planet, like we are, in fact, facing now. I am glad to see that you walk the talk because you are a vegan.

Thank you, thank you. The animals thank you. And you look so handsome and healthy. Can you stand up and let everybody look at you? Turn around. He really looks handsome, yes. Look at him. Please don't be shy, you must save the animals at all cost.

Now, if we, the human race, develop as a vegan society, and better yet, a spiritual vegan society, there will be no limit to our material development. Because then, sir, we will have the wisdom and the love to propel us on a balanced, straight course for the future, bright future, for our planet and our children. If we have the spiritual eye, we will find that past civilizations, both on Earth and other planets, sometimes developed too quickly in the technological sense.

But the spiritual development, their store of love, was low or empty. And what do we see? We see the pattern is that no society can last long if they refuse to sustain the lives of their own members and fellow beings; I mean, including all the beings, like animals and trees. Or, if they destroy the environment they live in, then that society cannot live long. We can see that also in historical records. Just like the proverb that says, “The frog does not drink up all the water in the pond in which he lives.” Because he needs the water, you see? So we cannot destroy the environment and live in it as well. It is not the rapid increase in global population that is the problem, sir. It might contribute, but a little bit; we have enough to sustain everybody, more than that.

We have enough food to feed the world twice over, right now even, if we don't feed all the food to the animals. Yes, you know that. The real problem is our meat consumption, the tendency of mass killing that we have made a part of our lives, and we look at it as a normal life. It is not normal. It is not normal that we cause suffering to others who have feelings and who shed red blood, and call that “food” or “earning a living.” We cannot earn a living or sustain a living by death.

Meat consumption is the way of not just cruelty but of waste on an unimaginable, gross scale. To illustrate, let's compare a meat eater to a vegan. One meat eater requires two hectares - that's four acres of land - to support him. But that same two hectares, or four acres of land, could support the healthy lifestyle of 80 vegans. Compare that. Now, let's look at water. A meat eater uses up 15,000 liters of water per day, because of the meat diet, which is 15 times as much water as a vegan would use. Because we use a lot of water to raise cattle and to wash them, to clean them, etc., and to water the crops that feed the animals as well, so we use a lot of water, just for one piece of meat.

Now, there is also a dramatic difference in terms of emissions from the diet. The meat-based diet's emissions is equivalent to driving a car 4,758 kilometers - that is 17 times the emissions of an organic vegan diet, which is equivalent to only 281 kilometers. In other words, an organic vegan diet produces 94% less emissions than a meat-based diet -94% less emissions! So if we just choose the vegan diet, we will save the world in no time. Ninety-four percent less pollution emission from a vegan diet, compared to meat diet. Now, vegans also save immeasurable pollution costs, energy costs, resource costs, disease treatment costs, global warming costs, tax costs, plus the emotional costs related to the sorrow and suffering of the people.

That is much more than money or anything we can imagine. Now, added together, the impact of a meat-eating population is just unimaginably huge and wrong, whereas the impact of a vegan population always comes out to be a tiny fraction of the meat eaters' terrible impact. So, if we don't eliminate meat consumption, we could never reach even a low, low impact on the environment, no matter what else we do.

We must stop the most inefficient, unsustainable, life-destroying practice of murdering animals and stop it now. Stop it yesterday.

The animal-meat industry has to go - be it animals from the air, the land or the sea. Can we imagine? The animals they're just flying in the air, they don't even touch us, they don't do anything to us; we shoot them down, we trap them, drag them home and eat. We call that food. The fish swimming in the sea, minding his own business, doing nothing harmful to us ever, doesn't even know us, doesn't even see us - we net them up, suffocate them, drag them to our table and we call that food. That fish might have a lot of babies waiting for him. That bird might have a lot of babies waiting for her.

And the land animals, they have not been so many. It's just we breed them - meaning inviting them to our planet. Now, if we invite somebody to our home, what do we call this person? A guest, no? Is that true? MC(m): Yes.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: Okay. Now, we invite these poor innocent animals to our planet and then we torture them all their miserable lives. Confine them in a little cage that they could not even turn around in, all their lives, including pregnant animals, including little baby animals. We invite them to our planet by breeding them, by inseminating, by using all kinds of techniques to invite them to our planet, then we torture them, molest them, suffocate them and murder them en masse. What kind of hosts are we?

What kind of hosts are we? Why do we invite them here and treat them thus? If somebody invited us to their home and treated us like that, imagine how we'd feel. Imagine if we were in the position of that confined pig or chained cows, or suffocating chickens or ducks in an overcrowded animal factory. Imagine it's us, then you'll understand what I'm talking about.

We have to stop all this cruelty, because we're civilized, humane people. We are civilized, we are educated, we are religious. We have been taught by all the greatest prophets since time immemorial to be a dignified human being. So we have to stop all this mass murdering of the animals from air, from land or from sea, from anywhere at all. That's the only way we can and should develop sustainably for our children and grandchildren and future generations. That's the only way we should develop. And after all, the vegan way of building society is the most befitting to the human standard of compassion. It is truly the way of most peaceful, paradise-like, children-of-God-like civilizations, because we save lives.

Not only do we save the animals, we save our lives, we save the lives of the world, of the people in the world. Then we are heroes.
The planets that were saved from destruction, like Venus, were saved because their societies became vegan - I mean the ones that are saved. I mentioned there are four Venuses - only two of them were saved because their societies became vegan. The other two Venuses were destroyed - one is completely gone, one is boiling hot, uninhabitable, because they have not been vegan. The two Venuses are saved because they have become vegan. Many planets that did not survive, like Mars, perished with meat still in their mouths, between their teeth.

So, it is up to us, sir. If we alone are vegan, we ourselves will change at least, and if there are enough of us, our society will change. You know how it changed your life, the vegan diet. We become smarter, more sensitive, more compassionate, more considerate to other people and the environment and the animals around us. We became a different person; and we are happy to become so different. If everyone in the society becomes vegan, we will develop in an incredible way as a whole planet in the universe.

And that time, there will be no limit to our spiritual development and even our social, technological, material development, once we turn to our compassionate God-like nature. Everything else will naturally be built on this new foundation, and the correct foundation, the only foundation we should have - of loving kindness - and the society will develop itself and manage itself accordingly: in peace, wisdom, compassion, and dignified co-existence among all living beings. Thank you, Mr. Hardianto.

Q(m): Thank you, Master.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: Please advise your clients to do the same.

MC(f): Thank you very much, Master, for your answer.

Adeline Friends of Nature Spoken in Indonesian Adeline (f) : In my opinion, being vegetarian is a good thing because we can reduce the methane effects worldwide which cause a lot of climate change and global warming.

Supreme Master TV (f): Do you have plans to change your diet to a vegetarian or organic vegan one after attending this seminar?

Adeline (f) : I plan to do just that, because I have already witnessed the results before and it's great. I will definitely try, but because since we were born, we were already taught to eat meat, it's kind of hard to change that habit. But, if we care to try, there is nothing that we cannot do. I am Adeline from Friends of Nature.

Be veg! Go green! Save the planet!

Ning Purnomo HadiLandscape architect Spoken in Indonesian Interviewee (f): She (Supreme Master Ching Hai) is so touching, so touching because she is so inspiring.
She works so hard. Seminars like this must be held everywhere. Protect nature, help nature to recover like before.

VJ Surya & VJ AditMTV Insomnia Spoken in Indonesian (m 1): We know the global warming issue is already very grave. It's time for us to start something new. Hopefully through this we can be even faster in overcoming the global warming issue. I am VJ Surya from MTV Insomnia.
I am VJ Adit from MTV Insomnia Indonesia.

Please be veg! Go green! And save the planet!

How much money would we save if the world becomes vegan?

Dr. Joop Oude Lohuis - Team Manager, Climate and Global Sustainability unit, Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency: We are now at the point that science has more and better numbers on the effect of changing our diet and eating less meat.

A study by the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency found that global dietary change would reduce the cost of mitigating global warming.

A global shift to a low-meat diet could save 50% of total mitigation cost.

A global shift to a meat-free diet could save 70% of total cost.

A global shift to an animal-free vegan diet would save climate mitigation costs by more than 80%.

That is a substantial cost reduction in getting to the same climate targets.

Not only governments, but individuals save too.

It's a lot cheaper than buying photovoltaic cells on your house, or buying a hybrid car. It's a very easy way to change your buying behavior and have a fantastic quality of your meal.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: We still have a chance to halt global warming and should be optimistic. We don't have much time but we still have time. We meanwhile do our best by adopting the quickest and the most efficient measure to reverse climate change. We must change to a vegan diet ourselves, so that we become a part of the solution. To help the government to change, we can write letters explaining how a vegan diet is a solution for the planetary crisis, is the most practical way to prevent future calamities due to global warming. Because the plant-based lifestyle is more sustainable, and opens up land. It restores the balance of our ocean and forest and preserves our finite natural resources. This is truly the best way to restore our environment and ensure the highest degree of peace. Such a simple solution, being veg, that's it.

MC(m): Our next question is from Mr. I Made Sukadana， a property businessman.

IMS(m): Welcome，Master.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: Hallo.

IMS(m):In one lecture that was shown by Supreme Master Television，I saw Master saying that if we all become vegan， then within a couple of weeks only， we could see the result. Could you please elaborate more on how this can happen？ Thank you.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: I'm glad that you are here and I'm glad that you asked a very good question. I didn't say a couple of weeks， I said a few weeks， like ８ weeks. Okay，８ weeks，２ months.

It's nothing miraculous， Mr. Sukadana. But you know miracles do happen as well. Now，we talk scientifically. As I have said before， if the world's people all become vegans，we will see a dramatic change in a short period of time， a couple of months. Nature will rebound almost before our eyes， almost overnight，and we may see the oceans healthy again， the cyclones silenced， earthquakes calmed， forests re-growing，etc. These changes would be just the beginning signs of a real Eden on Earth. Actually，there is the physical scientific reason，as well as the spiritual karmic explanation for this.

First，for the scientific reasons，is that， without any more meat or dairy consumption， the livestock industry would shut down. Without the mad breeding of cows，pigs，sheep， chickens，and other animals，and fishing， and without the need to constantly grow crops to feed them，we would eliminate the biggest， most urgent problems of the environment- that is the methane and other gases that heat up our planet. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization said that the livestock industry is the major cause of the most pressing world problems，namely， global warming， land degradation， air and water pollution， and loss of biodiversity.

Can you believe this？ It's like that. For example， global warming: with no animal breeding industries， we immediately stop the number one cause of greenhouse gas emissions. Not just CO２， not just carbon dioxide， but also methane， nitrous oxide， black carbon from burning down the trees for the livestock， and also toxic gases like hydrogen sulfide. This kind of gas，even if you just breathe once， you die immediately，if it's a strong enough concentration. Some of them are much more potent than CO２， like nitrous oxide.

The livestock sector is the number one source of nitrous oxide emissions， and it is almost ３００ times more heat-trapping than CO２ over a １００-year period. Now，methane and black carbon are what scientists call short-lived gases， meaning，although they are very potent climate warmers，they dissipate and exit the atmosphere very quickly. And it's not just global warming we are talking about.

If we are vegan， we don't have to worry about avian flu， which was found in ２２ out of ３３ provinces in Indonesia alone， and has caused millions of poultry deaths and caused many human fatalities in Indonesia - more human deaths in your country than in any other country due to the deadly form of avian flu. If we are vegan， Indonesia's coral reefs， known as the 『Amazon of the Seas』 for their thousands of marine species，will be left in peace and beauty， and will protect us. The coral reef is a protector of our lives， of the sea. Right now it is endangered， the coral reef， due to overfishing， which includes a destructive form that uses gruesome methods like cyanide poisoning and blasting the fish with bombs and dynamite. My God.

The World Resources Institute stated that these types of fishing only bring short-term Profit and will cost the Indonesian economy more than US$６００ million in losses over ２０ years. Moreover， around the world， countless enormous ocean dead zones will have a chance to return to life，because the rivers and the lakes that were polluted by manure and toxic fertilizers for animal feed will be left alone to purify themselves and recover. Also，when we stop vacuuming all the poor fish out of the sea， they will have a chance to restore the balance in the oceans. We desperately need the fish in the sea to balance the ocean; otherwise our lives will be in danger.

God puts them there for a reason. By the way，at least one-third of all the world's fish caught and murdered today is fed to livestock - not to us humans even. On land， millions of hectares will be spared livestock's serious effects of soil erosion， deforestation，poisonous water pollution，and displacement of wildlife， if all turn to vegan.

Scientists found that forests are resilient and can grow back if given a chance - very fast. We have seen that evidence in some parts of the world. The scientists also observed that when the ocean is healthy again， even the dead coral reefs will revive themselves. Imagine！ Nature is miraculous and incredible. But in order to witness nature's recovery， we must not let our current way of life continue. We cannot continue this way， or else we will pass the point of no return and then we will have a runaway planetary crisis; then we might lose the whole planet or the life on the planet.

Another factor to consider is，sir: the vegan solution is the fastest and most effective because any other solution such as sustainable technologies will take too long to perfect and use. For example，in Indonesia， your precious forests are being cut down to grow palm oil to be used as biofuel energy，and we thought that will help to minimize the CO２. We are wrong. It's a failure，causing more destruction and more greenhouse gas emissions than it saves.

In fact，it's releasing the world's third largest amount of carbon emissions， because of biofuel… in the wrong way. You see， the green technology is not always reliable. This is particularly very tragic because Indonesia has the world's third biggest rainforest， only behind the Amazon and the Congo. Yet，your rainforest is being lost at an alarming rate of one football field per minute. Every minute，Indonesia loses one football-field-size of rainforest. God.

And the United Nations says that ９８％ of the whole forest could be gone in just １５ years - your forest， １５ years，sir， the year of your newborn child to grow up as a teenager. Ninety-eight percent - so why don't we just say １００％ will be gone？ What's the difference two more percent makes to us anymore？ Actually，not all of this palm oil product is used as biofuel even. Part of the palm oil products goes to make livestock feed.

Imagine，everything goes to the animals. In the name of biofuel even，it will also go there to feed the livestock. Everything goes to the animals. Everything to the animal industry and we don't have much. So we can see how many activities are linked to this destructive practice of animal raising. Fortunately，we have the solution ready at hand， sir，which is the organic vegan solution. It's so simple，so easy， we might overlook it. We might not believe it. But if we look into all the scientific and the physical evidence so far， we have to accept this organic vegan solution as the one and only to save our planet right now. Instead of spending more money on new technology， we even save money from having to buy meat and subsidize meat with our tax dollars. We simply cannot depend on green technology alone，sir.

Now，there is also an invisible aspect to the reversal in the destruction. A compassionate person harms no one and， therefore，brings no harm upon himself. That is why in Buddhism， they say that the moment we drop the butcher's knife，then we are protected， then we can become the Buddha，the saint. It's really like that. We hear real stories about hospital patients who had a terminal sickness like cancer， turned vegetarian or vegan，and then the tumor disappeared， so operations were cancelled and doctors were very astonished.

So，people turned vegans and the terminal cancer situation was gone and operations cancelled and the doctors were very surprised. Because the vegan diet protects us from inside out， starting immediately， so that all kinds of calamities will avoid us， stay away from us. And on a bigger scale， our planet will also be healed. Just like an individual being healed by turning to a compassionate diet- like attracts like.

The good，loving， compassionate energy will ward off the darkness that is looming toward us，that is next to us right now. We will，in short，have a paradise on Earth. If you have ever wondered what that might be like， we may soon live to see the day when all beings will truly live by your nation's motto，that is 『Unity in Diversity』- in oneness， understanding，caring， faith，and happiness. I invite everyone to share the hopeful vision that we will save the planet， and will make it a Heaven one. Thank you for your open-minded question， Mr. Sukadana. God Bless you.

MC(f): Thank you， Supreme Master Ching Hai. It is a great blessing for all of us here in Indonesia and for all humanity throughout the world. Thank you，Master.

MC(f): The book is about how diverse and beautiful our animal friends are. We're all very happy to have your book with the Indonesian people here and we hope the love in the book prevails all around，and people's loving mind can be awakened more.

MC(m): We also sincerely thank the publishing company， PT. Gramedia， for the book launch and for their efforts to be green and environment-friendly.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: Thank you. Good for the animals， good for us. Thank you so much.

MC(f): Thank you again， Supreme Master Ching Hai， for giving us the gift of your delightful book in Indonesian！

Supreme Master Ching Hai: Hope you enjoy.

MC(m): And now，through a series of performances of traditional dances gathered from the distant corners of Indonesia，a group of members of the Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association wish to convey their love to Indonesia and the world.

MC(f): The dance is in celebration of Master's book launch in Indonesia and also to serve as one representation of the many beautiful cultural heritages that exist throughout the world that each of us can now make efforts to preserve through our life-saving actions. Let us welcome our dancers with warm applause！

Supreme Master Ching Hai: Indonesian people are so beautiful， so good looking as well！ Yes，and the children were so cute and healthy， energetic，full of energy， and all vegan？ Good example. Now audience， you look at that. Don't you want your children to be like that？ They are good examples！

MC(f): Yes，Master， they are all vegetarian kids.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: Yes. Vegan！ MC(f): Yes，vegan.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: In the beginning， I told people it's okay to be vegetarian， slowly change to vegan. And now we are all vegan. All vegan. Very good. Beautiful. Thank you so much for this exciting，incredible， energetic performance.

MC (f&m): Thank you，Master.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: I love Indonesia even more after this. They are beautiful！ Such a culture！

MC(f): Thank you，Master. Supreme Master Ching Hai， before we close our seminar， would you like to have a closing speech for us？

Supreme Master Ching Hai: Yes. I would like to thank the people. I would like to have more thanks to the people， to express my appreciation to all the caring presences and your devotion at this important meeting. I am very honored to be invited and be among all the precious guests who have made this occasion special with your sincere，beautiful， enthusiastic presence and very supportive atmosphere. And this， including the Minister of the Environment， Mr. Rachmat Witoelar. Thank you，sir.

And also all the dignitaries and engaged audience members. My appreciation also for the gracious and hardworking organizers and the beautiful dancers. We are indeed standing at a pivotal time in our history on the planet，with the choice still available to make mighty steps in the constructive direction of our evolution. I pray that this conference has spoken to your compassionate heart，to change the world，to your vision of a bright new vegan future，a new compassionate world，and to your determination to help create this vision: a survived，thriving planet of peace，health，and happiness for all to enjoy.

May Heaven give us all the strength. May Allah bless us with courage and love and faith to strive until this dream comes true. Heaven bless you. Allah bless Indonesia. Wish you success and blessings to you all.

MC(f): Thank you，Master， very much for your precious time，Master.

MC(m): Thank you， Supreme Master Ching Hai， for your precious time and for your presence here with us today.

MC(f): Through today's seminar， we have gained much valuable information. We have learned that the organic vegan lifestyle is the fastest and most effective and long-lasting solution for our planet. It is the solution that will halt climate change， and even bring improvements to our one，and home，planet. Our beautiful Earth will become better because of the loving energy that we generate through living the compassionate meat-free lifestyle.

MC(m): The plant-based diet stops the killing cycle and reduces our carbon footprint considerably. Planting trees，adopting green technologies and using sustainable energy helps too. But as we have seen， these approaches take a longer time， and time is a luxury that we do not have.

MC(m): This brings our seminar to a close. We sincerely hope that you have found it to be interesting and of course informative.

MC(f): The solution that has been presented is one that will simply recover what we have lost and transform this world into the paradise that we so much desire it to be. We really appreciate your kind attention and thank you for coming.

MC(m&f): Be vegan！ Go green！ Save the planet！ MC(f): Shall we say it together？ MC(m): Can we say it together and out loud？ １，２，３… MC(m&f): Be vegan！ Go green！ Save the planet！ MC(m): Please repeat once again， together. MC(m) & MC(f): Be vegan！ Go green！ Save the planet！ MC(f): Together we can save the planet. MC(m): Good night. Enjoy the rest of your evening. Thank you MC(f&m): and bye-bye.

Vegetarian food is indeed very delicious. We learn not to use meat as was said at the seminar， and we should always eat vegetarian food in order to reduce methane in the atmosphere.

Vegetarian food also has important benefits for all of us，that is，to mitigate global warming.

Interviewee (f): I think she (Supreme Master Ching Hai) is so amazing！ She is the most incredible woman that I have ever met！ She seeks to recover the world as to how it should be. Today there is global warming， and it occurs everywhere， as well as drought， thus causing the glaciers to shift. The solutions given in the seminar are indeed very good to avoid all of these. She founded a vegan organization in order to reduce methane in the atmosphere. That is amazing！

What is your opinion on this seminar？

Tasya (f): In my opinion， it is very good. This seminar talks about global warming and how the vegetarian diet will be able to mitigate the effects of global warming because vegetarians do not consume meat from animals， and if more and more people become vegetarian， the waste from livestock farming，which is the biggest contributor to global warming， can also be reduced. So，in addition to a healthy life， the environment can also be maintained. She (Supreme Master Ching Hai) is a wonderful， wonderful person and she is so humble and she is so kind. She always tries to help people and to help the environment to get better and better.

On the first date，you ask， 『Where do you come from？』 『What is your surname？』 I am asking because I would like to know
Grandma／Grandpa， your grandson would like to cross the ocean Waving my handkerchief to say goodbye
Grandma／Grandpa， your grandson would like to cross the ocean Waving my handkerchief to say goodbye

Hi，all my friends， let's come together！ Hi，all my friends， let's come together！
Develop our villages for a good purpose Do not stand idle Work diligently with our faith and honesty
Develop our villages for a good purpose Do not stand idle Work diligently with our faith and honesty

Be in high spirits Don't wait anymore Be in high spirits Don't wait anymore
Be in high spirits Don't wait anymore Be in high spirits Don't wait anymore

Be veg！ Go green！ Save the planet！

Chacha Frederica Young Indonesia Television Actress and Presenter This seminar is very good. This kind of seminar should be held more，and as often as possible， to raise awareness in all the people in the world about maintaining and preserving our home. We don't just use it but we also need to know how to keep it - not only for our generation but for generations of our successors.

She (Supreme Master Ching Hai) is very good because she can convey the message well to all societies on Earth to please be aware of something that is already happening and please keep，and take care of，this planet. Be veg！ Go green！ And save the planet！

A climate change conference entitled “Vegan Organic for Prosperity and
to Save the Planet from Climate Change” was held on October 22, 2009,
in Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia.

The purpose of the
conference was to raise awareness on the grave issues of global warming
and the most effective and key solution to halt it in its tracks – the
vegan diet.

Participating dignitaries included Indonesia’s
Assistant Minister for Economics and Poverty Alleviation, Ms. Sri
Hudyastuti. Also speaking as presenters were Ms. Hira Jamtani, an
associate of the Third World Network based in Bali, Indonesia;
Indonesian naval physician Dr. Anton Budiono; and Professor Aris
Ananta, senior researcher at the Institute of South East Asian
Studies in Singapore. Guest of Honor Supreme Master Ching Hai
graciously answered questions from distinguished audience members on
topics such as the vegan trend to stop global warming, and ways to
implement organic vegan farming.

We now invite you to join us
for 8-part series rebroadcast of the videoconference with Supreme
Master Ching Hai, entitled “Vegan Organic for Prosperity and to Save
the Planet from Climate Change,” held on October 22, 2009 on Jakarta,
Indonesia.